Preach to the Choir
by PreciousRoy
Summary: A story about the moody, broody, attitude-y guy we all know and love. It all started with an ultimatum: join the school choir or he's off the Bladebreakers. From an outrageous, meddling teacher, to personal demons, to a hopeless crush, Kai's school life is anything but ordinary. Especially when Rei is dragged in to it as a substitute teacher. (KaixRei, High school fic)
1. Touching a Nerve

This is a little story I've wanted to write for a while. A teenage, high-school romance. 'cause why not?

Hope you enjoy it!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Preach to the Choir.

Chapter 1 – Touching a nerve.

Tyson shuffled impatiently in his seat in the waiting area of Mr. Dickinson's office.

They had been there for about half an hour already, waiting.

The members of the Bladebreakers got a call the previous afternoon asking them to come in for a meeting about an upcoming tournament.

Four of the five members were already there.

The only person not currently present, was Kai.

"Urgggh..." Tyson huffed, fed up. "Trust Kai to be the one to keep us all waiting." he complained.

"Now, now, Tyson. It's not his fault." Mr. Dickinson chuckled, "Kai is being brought directly from his school. Today was a test day, so he probably couldn't leave on time. I'm sure he'll be here shortly."

Kai was coming to the end of his first year of high school. In true Kai form, he didn't tell the others where he went or how it was going, so they didn't really know anything about his school life. Or personal life. Or anything for that matter.

They sat waiting for another five or so minutes when the door clicked open.

They turned to the door and were all taken aback by what they saw.

Instead of his normal, tough-guy, don't-mess-with-me facade, the boy they knew walked in in a whole new light.

He wore grey pants, a white shirt, deep purple tie and navy blue blazer with a fancy yellow symbol embroidered on the breast pocked. Clearly his school uniform. A fancy school at that, by the look of it. His face clean of his usual blue war paint. If it weren't for the same wild hair and moody expression, they may not have been able to recognise him.

Tyson snorted, "Nice uniform..." he teased.

Kai shot him a look that could only be translated as 'go fuck yourself'.

Their eyes came off their friend to a man following directly behind him.

He was a tall, well built man in his late thirties, wearing a suit but bright coloured sneakers. His brown hair cut fashionably, slight stubble on his face and thick-rimmed glasses in front of his steely grey eyes. He looked pretty cool, whoever he was.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, test ran over time and there was traffic..." he told them, as if they knew each other.

The other four members stared at him, smiling politely, but wondering who he was.

"Ah, how rude of me." the man said, realising. "I'm Dan Harris, Kai's home-room teacher." he said cheerfully as he reached out and enthusiastically shook their hands. "And you must be the Bladebreakers. I've watched some of your matches on TV. Nice to finally be able to meet you in person."

Kai rolled his eyes.

Mr. Dickinson stood up from his seat. Mr. Harris met his eyes and went to shake his hand as well.

"And you must be Stanley Dickinson, it's so nice to finally meet you after talking so much on the phone."

Kai glared at him with his arms folded. The others looked between them.

"A pleasure to meet you too. And thank you for bringing him at such short notice. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"Oh not at all."

A young woman came in to the room.

"Sir, there's a phone call for you."

"Ah, please excuse me for just a moment, gentlemen." Mr. Dickinson said before excusing himself.

Kai sat himself down, silently. Mr. Harris sitting himself opposite him. The boys began chatting amongst themselves as they waited.

Rei was trying to make small talk with Kai. It had been a while. As always, Kai gave short, to the point answers back, but answered at least. He seemed to relax a little, and even asked Rei about what he'd been up to. He even cracked a small smile as Rei complained about Tyson playfully.

From the corner of the young Chinese teen's eye, he noticed his teacher watching them, or Kai at least, trying to be subtle about it. He seemed a little surprised.

Mr. Dickinson came back from his office.

"I'm sorry about that boys, if you'd all like to join me in my office, we'll get started."

They got up and followed the old man in to his office, leaving Mr. Harris in the waiting area.

They had been brought in to discuss the next upcoming tournament. For some reason, the date had been pushed up, which meant they had to make sure everyone was able to make it in order for the team to enter. The paperwork had to be signed by them all and sent off right away to be processed in time.

Luckily, it wasn't a problem.

Yet.

After they finished, they made their way out of the office and back to the waiting area, where Mr. Harris was playing some game on his phone.

"That was fast." he said as he noticed them come out, putting his phone away.

"Let's go..." Kai said abruptly, not even looking at him.

"Hold on a sec..." his teacher chuckled, putting his hand gently on him to stop him. "Mr. Dickinson, I know you're busy, but do you have a minute for a little chat?"

Kai finally lifted his eyes to him, they narrowed suspiciously. Mr. Dickinson nodded and gestured for him to enter his office.

"If you boys wouldn't mind waiting here..." the old man said before shutting the door.

They sat back down. Kai dropped his bag lazily on the floor and slumped down, eyeing the door to the office.

"You in trouble or something, Kai?" Tyson asked nosily, also looking at the door.

"Not that I know of." he said flatly.

"Why do you seem to have such a problem with him? Seems like a real nice dude." Max questioned in his normal cheery voice.

"Hn..." was his answer.

Rei smiled and shook his head. He was still the same old sourpuss with his guard up against everyone. He took the opportunity to look him up and down. Taking his friend in in this unfamiliar clothing. He...scrubbed up nice. If he'd just wipe that pissed look off his face, he'd actually look really handsome.

About ten minutes passed when the door opened slightly, Mr. Dickinson poked his head out, getting Kai's attention and motioning for him to join them.

The boy huffed before uncrossing his legs, getting up and leaving the others.

"...wonder what he did?" Tyson wondered out loud, seeming to enjoy the idea of Kai being busted for something.

"I'm sure he didn't do anything, Tyson.." Kenny replied, knowing his friend was being mean.

"But then why is his teacher talking to Mr. D...?" Tyson asked.

"Well, Mr. D is his legal guardian until he's 18. Any school matters will have to go by him." Kenny answered matter of factly.

"Oh...yeh...I guess he is." Tyson felt bad he'd forgotten the little he did know about Kai's messed up family situation.

They were distracted from their conversation by the sound of a loud, angry voice coming from Mr. D's office.

The door was soon thrown open, and a fired up Kai stormed out. Rage in his eyes.

The two adults followed.

"Kai, come on...let's talk about this calmly." Mr. Dickinson said, alarmed at the enraged teenager.

"Come back in, Kai. We're not done here." Mr. Harris said firmly in his teacher's voice.

Kai whirled around to face him and growled.

"Oh, yes we are! Who the _hell_ do you think you are butting in to my life like this?! You have no right to interfere with what I do outside of school!" he yelled furiously.

"I'm not butting in, this _is_ about school. I'm here as your teacher trying to resolve an issue with your guardian. You just don't like it." he said calmly.

"Oh, please! I already told you, my answer is no! You thought you could come here and bully me in to it through him." he pointed at Mr. Dickinson, "Real dick move! But too bad for you, I'm not going to change my mind, so I guess you're shit out of luck!"

"Hey! Language!" Mr. Harris raised his voice.

Kai scowled at him before turning his back to him. He grabbed his bag and roughly threw it over his shoulder before heading towards the door.

" _Kai._..." his teacher warned, his face clearly getting angry, "don't you dare walk away from me..."

Kai kept walking.

"You walk out that door and you're looking at some serious consequences, mister!" he threatened.

"Do your worst! See if I care!" Kai spat back.

"I mean it..."

Kai reached the door, grabbed the handle and roughly opened it. He turned to give his teacher a murderous, defiant look.

" _Bite_ me!" he snarled before slamming the door behind him.

Mr. Harris clenched his fists and let out his own annoyed growl. "Uuuurrrgghhhh...That kid drives me insane..." he thought out loud.

The realised that he'd actually said that and turned his head to the other members of his student's team, who just stared wide-eyed at the drama they had all witnessed.

"So...is he...this _charming_ with you guys, too?" he asked jokingly.

"Oh, trust us, we feel your pain, sir." Tyson laughed.

"Indeed...he's uh...quite unique in his ways..." Mr. Dickinson added, a sweat drop on his forehead.

"Too stubborn for his own good, you mean..." his teacher sighed.

"I'm sure he'll come round once he's cooled off..." Mr. Dickinson said in a forced, optimistic voice. Mr. Harris just raised an eyebrow at him, "...do you really believe that?"

"Can you tell us what all that was about? He was seriously steaming." Tyson pried.

Mr. Harris stiffened. "I'm afraid I'm bound by teacher-student confidentiality..."

Tyson looked disappointed.

"...I don't think he's got that problem, though.." he smirked, nodding towards Mr. Dickinson.

The boys looked over at the old man. All of them curious and wanting the story.

Mr. Dickinson was clearly uncomfortable being put on the spot like that, wondering if he should tell them. But the he gave in as the four sets of eyes waited.

"You see...Kai's not exactly...socialising well with the other students school..."

"Shocking..." Tyson interjected sarcastically.

The old man ignored him, "It's been an ongoing issue...His teachers are very concerned at his lack of interaction with...well, anyone. While his academic performance is excellent, his social skills and attitude are...to be desired."

"Come on, tell us something we don't know already!" Tyson protested, getting him a nudge in the ribs from Rei.

"Quiet, Tyson..."

Mr. Dickinson nodded a thank you to Rei. "Mr. Harris put forward a suggestion to him to try and help bring him out a shell and learn to work with his classmates. He refused. So, he came here to discuss it with me. I also feel it would be good for him, so told him if he refused, I wouldn't accept his application for the next tournament."

"Jeez, Mr. D! Way to back him in to a corner!" Tyson laughed.

"Tyson, will you stop!" Rei scolded, "In case you forgot, he just stormed out of here saying he wasn't going to back down, which means we may be down a member!"

Tyson stopped laughing.

"Mr. D, you were just bluffing though, right!? You wouldn't really do it, would ya?!" he panicked.

Stanley sighed. "I'm afraid I don't bluff. For his sake, I feel I should honour my threat. It's about time he learned to interact with people."

Tyson's face dropped.

"You can't be serious!"

"I'm afraid I am, Tyson. I'm sorry. But I have to do what's best for him. It's for his own good."

"Well...maybe we can help! What is it you wanted him to do anyway?"

Stanley looked over at Mr. Harris,who shrugged.

"He uh...he wants him to join the school chorus and perform in the next concert."

Their faces paled.

"...we're doomed." Tyson said, defeated.

"Hold on..." Max voiced, "How exactly is joining a chorus going to help him? Seems like a bit of a far-fetched idea to me...no disrespect."

Mr. Harris came to life, unimpressed at the criticism of his brilliant idea.

"How will it help, he says!" he scoffed, "That guy couldn't express himself if his life depended on it! The only thing he knows how to do is push people away. I see it daily!" as he spoke, he got more and more animated.

"Being in a chorus requires teamwork and cooperating with other people. It only takes one person to upset the harmony. Every member must tune in to the others and give it their all, singing deep from the belly!"

"He's already part of a team." Max argued, a little freaked out by how much this guy believed in a chorus.

"And from what I heard from Mr. Dickinson, it wasn't exactly easy getting him to do that at first. But it involved beyblading, so he went along with it.

Max couldn't argue with that.

"I'm not saying being part of this team hasn't helped, I can see he's... _slightly_ warmer with you boys...but it doesn't make him use the one thing he needs to learn how to use. His voice. He needs to learn how to show some _feeling_. To emote. Something joining a chorus can provide him!" he stated almost dramatically.

"I'm going to go ahead and take a wild guess that you run the chorus..." Rei smirked.

"Indeed, I do!" Mr. Harris beamed proudly, "and it's a damn good one!"

Rei sighed at the overly enthusiastic man and turned to the others.

"Well...I think we'd better try and persuade him, then."

"Are you crazy!? He'll murder us!" Tyson exclaimed.

"Mr. Harris is right...I'm pretty sure we're the closest friends he has, and we barely know him. He _still_ holds us at arm's length. Maybe this would be good for him...and it's our job as his friends to help him...besides, if we doesn't, he's off the team. None of us want that."

"...so how do you propose we do this?" Kenny asked him.

"I...I don't know..."

"You should talk to him, Rei." Max suggested.

"Yeh. Tag, you're 'it', Rei." Tyson backed him up.

Rei choked.

"Why me!?" he protested. He was always lumbered with dealing with their moody teammate.

"...he sure as hell won't listen to any of us. You're our best bet."

He knew they were right, if anything they'd just make it worse.

"...fine..." he sighed, "I'll go look for him..."

"That'd be great! I uh...I can't really go back to the school without him..." Mr. Harris rubbed his head. Rei shook his head again and went off to find him.

Luckily, he had a few ideas of where Kai could be brooding around here. They used to come here a lot in the early days for meetings, and he'd always been the one sent to go find him back then, too when he'd wandered off.

He went with his instincts and checked a tiny, dark cafe down the street.

He hadn't lost his touch. The sourpuss was sat on a table by himself, nursing a coffee.

He walked in and slumped down opposite him.

"What do you want, Rei?" he said flatly.

"What makes you think I want something?" he asked innocently.

"You're here."

"Charming."

There was silence.

"Kai...look, we heard what all that was about."

"Hn. I thought as much. Sent you to try and get me to go along with their stupid idea." he grumbled bitterly.

"Actually, I offered."

"You're wasting your time, I'm not doing it."

"Why not?"

"Do I look like a fucking song bird to you?" Kai spat, annoyed.

"Heh, not one bit."

"So I'm not doing it."

"But Kai...you'll be off the team if you don't..." Rei said, pleading sadly.

"Well, then maybe it's destiny saying it's time to move on." he said, seemingly unphased.

Rei looked hurt.

"You...don't mean that, surely."

"Oh, I don't?"

Rei frowned.

"So this is all it's going to take for you to abandon us. Again." his voice filled with disappointment.

Kai stiffened, what happened in Russia was still a sensitive topic, even a few years later.

"All you have to do is show up and sing a little with some other students. What's the big deal? If it were me, it wouldn't even need thinking about. You guys mean more to me than my pride. I'd sing by myself in front of a room full of people if that's all it took to stay with you guys...we've been through so much together."

Kai didn't say anything.

Rei sighed.

"I'm not going to try and make you...you're too stubborn for that, so I won't waste my breath. But just know, if you do leave the team over this, it'll be...really disappointing."

He got up and left the other alone.

He made his way back to Mr. Dickinson's office. They turned to him as he entered with hopeful eyes. He shook his head. "I did my best, guys...but he's stubborn."

There was a chorus of deflated sighs.

The door opened again.

"Kai!" Mr. Harris exclaimed, relieved he hadn't lost his student and hoping he'd reconsidered.

The sulky teen didn't come in, he stayed in the doorway.

"Oh, don't get excited. You're my ride, remember." he huffed before throwing a glance at Rei and leaving.

"I guess that's our cue to leave. See you around, boys. Mr. Dickinson, I'll be in touch."

He left the room and followed his student silently back down to the car.

Things stayed quiet in the car. But that wasn't anything unusual with Kai around.

But Mr. Harris hated it.

"So...you have time to think about what we said?"

Kai huffed and looked out the window.

"...I'll think about it..." he said ever so quietly.

"...what was that?" Mr. Harris asked, he genuinely hadn't heard him.

"I said I'll _think_ about it..."

Mr. Harris choked on the air he was breathing.

"You will?"

"Hn..."

"What the hell!? Me and Mr. Dickinson talk to you about it and we incur your wrath, Rei flutters his golden eyes at you and you change your mind?" he joked.

Kai didn't respond. Mr. Harris checked on him in the mirror. His stony faced student had an ever so slight pink tinge across his face. He was _blushing_!? Why? He had only made a joke, but...could it be that he...?

He smirked, feeling brave.

"You know, I couldn't help but notice you're way nicer to him than I've ever seen you be to...well, anyone...even saw you flash him a smile. You, uh...you sweet on him or something?" he asked coyly.

It was Kai's turn to choke, the pink quickly turned to a violent red.

"What?! Where the hell did that come from!?" he barked, embarrassed.

Mr. Harris raised a smug eyebrow.

"Oh-hoooo...did I touch a nerve there, Mr. Hiwatari?" he teased.

"Shut up! What kind of teacher asks a student something like that!?"

"Kai loves Reeeeiiiiii..." he sang childishly.

"Seriously, how are you an educator?!" he yelled, his voice seeming to crack ever so slightly. Not the kind of sound that often came out of the mighty Kai.

Mr. Harris looked at him again in the mirror, the kid was actually worked up. Seemed he really had touched a nerve. His face was burning. He didn't know Kai was capable of looking so flustered.

"...holy shit, I'm right, aren't I?"

"No! Just...knock it off! This is hardly an appropriate conversation." he protested in a quiet voice, arms back to their folded position.

Mr. Harris realllllly wanted to rib him more. Lord knows this kid was enough of a pain in his ass on a daily basis to deserve it. But, he did want him to be on his side, he remembered.

"I'm sorry, Kai. I was only teasing." he smiled.

"Whatever..."

They drove the rest of the way back to the school in silence.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

End of intro chapter! Hope you enjoyed!


	2. Chinese for Beginners

Chapter 2 – Chinese for Beginners.

As soon as they'd reached the school, Kai stormed off quickly to his room without a word to his teacher. He ripped the door of his bedroom open and slammed it behind him. He threw his bag on the floor, quickly followed by his blazer and tie. He untucked his shirt and loosened the top buttons before he flung himself on the bed, arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

What a shitty day.

He hated being here. It was a prestigious all-boys boarding school. "St. Tristan's". The name alone sounded pompous, didn't it? It ran from junior high all the way through to high school. Almost four years down, two to go.

He was stuck here day in, day out surrounded by spoilt, snooty rich guys who thought they were better and smarter than everyone else. Or total pussies who had never done a thing by themselves. They'd lived their lives in a safe little bubble, they had no idea about the real world like he did.

He did not fit in here.

He'd been talked to so many times about his 'anti-social' behaviour. Teachers worried about why he never talked to anyone or socialised with any of them.

Because he didn't like them. Was that so hard to understand?

His new home room teacher this year was the worst for it. He tried constantly to have heart-to-hearts with him. To try and figure him out. Wanting to 'fix' him. And now he'd pulled that stunt with the stupid chorus.

He hated him. Interfering prick...

Now he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He had to either give in and joined the chorus, letting that douchebag win, or gave up him place in the tournament...

Kai thought about the car ride home again and cringed.

How could he let himself get so flustered in front of _him?_ He'd never been asked anything like that before. He'd caught him totally off guard.

How had he come to that conclusion anyway? He didn't think he acted so different towards Rei than the others.

Oh, what was he even worrying about? He didn't really have 'feelings' for Rei...he just felt...different towards him. He was just a lot more mature and easier to get along with than the rest of the team...that was all.

Right?

He couldn't deny he struggled to understand how he felt about him. It was a weird feeling. It felt more than comradery with a teammate. But was it...that?

He knew he actually missed him when he wasn't training with them. A lot more so than the others. He wasn't accustomed to missing anybody.

He kept the picture of the team with their medals from the world championships on his desk. He wasn't usually that sentimental.

Shit, maybe it was that.

There was one more thing that supported that horrible hypothesis. He did something that was so out of character for him, thinking about it made him want to give himself a hard slap.

He'd enrolled in the optional Chinese class at school.

He didn't really know why he'd done it...he saw it, he thought of Rei, he signed up.

How pitiful was that?

He'd never use it. Especially not in front of Rei.

It was ridiculously hard, too. Why was he putting himself through this? He was busy enough with training and his other school work.

Oh god...maybe he was 'sweet' on him, as Harris had so grossly put it.

Maybe it was fine though. If it _was_ that, it was just a phase. It would pass. While he didn't talk to anyone in his class, he did listen. He'd heard a good few of them going on and on to their friends about a girl they liked...They'd messaged, she hadn't messaged back...blah blah blah love is terrible. Then it would be a different girl soon enough, and the horrible cycle started all over again. Pff, losers. He was glad he didn't bother with them if that's the kind of 'sparkling' conversations they had.

Nah, it had to be something else. Some other explanation. He was above all that...all he needed was himself. He didn't need anyone else. And he sure as hell didn't 'like' anyone. From now on, he just needed to try harder to get certain people to back off. Get them all off his back. He'd figure a way out of this ridiculous singing business, win the tournament and get some distance from Rei, then he'd be fine and back to normal.

He glanced over at his desk and sighed. He still had to finish that damn Chinese homework for tomorrow.

In the teachers room, Dan Harris swivelled from side to side on his chair at his desk, sipping on a well earned coffee. Still smiling to himself about the incident in the car.

He'd been a teacher since he was in his early twenties. About fifteen years now. He'd never come across a student quite like Kai before.

As much of a pain in the butt he was, he liked the kid and cared about him. He knew his attitude was all a front. And he was feeling pretty proud of himself that he'd put together that his moody, loner student had a crush. It was heart-warming, really. He gave off that he hated everyone, but he knew he was full of shit. This just proved it.

In a playful way, he also loved that Kai was probably up in his room right now just dyyyying that he'd been sussed out, too.

He'd come to this school two years ago. This was the first year he'd been made a home room teacher. He had dreaded it at first, but turned out he'd been pretty lucky.

It was only twelve boys. Ten of them were no problem whatsoever. Good students, never causing trouble, nice personalities. Real nice kids.

Then there was Kai and Giles.

Kai wasn't a necessarily a 'problem', per se. He definitely sometimes talked to teachers in a way he shouldn't, but that's about it. He was a good student in that he studied, turned everything in on time, and scored well on tests. It was just...his social skills and attitude that were an issue. And it was more worrying than a problem...It couldn't be good for anyone to be that reclusive.

Giles on the other hand...

As a teacher, he hated even thinking it, but he was a nasty little turd.

He was from an _incredibly_ wealthy family and boy did he know it. His parents acted as if he was the next coming of Christ or something...it clearly went to his head. He never had a nice thing to say to anyone, always looked down on everyone like they were shit on his shoe and walked around like he owned the place. He thought he was untouchable because all he had to do was call daddy and he'd be fine. He really knew how to rub people the wrong way and seemed to relish in it.

That was the funny difference between his two 'problem' students. Kai also gave off that he had a huge ego, especially when it came to blading. He gave everyone the cold-shoulder and barely acknowledged anyone's presence. But he wasn't mean or a bully. The rest of his class just seemed to accept him. Some of them even kept making an effort to engage with him. He also didn't have that 'rich boy' vibe. He never flaunted it. He never bragged about his wealth. In that respect, he was very down to earth.

He was distracted from his thoughts when a hand patted his shoulder. It was Mr. Simmons, the math teacher.

"How'd it go with Sunshine?"

He chuckled, he'd referred to Kai as 'Sunshine' once in passing not long after meeting him and it had stuck around the staff room.

"He went ape-shit. But I think he'll come around."

"If that boy sings in your chorus, I'll get you a sash for being teacher of the year..."

"I think I'll deserve a crown too, if I pull this off."

Mr. Simmons chuckled too.

Just then the door opened, and the principle walked in looking incredibly annoyed.

"Has anyone seen the vice anywhere?" he barked.

"No, sir. Not for a while. Is something wrong?"

"I just got a call, the Mandarin teacher is going to be out for at least a month."

"A month? I hope he's all right..." one of the teachers said worriedly.

"Yeh, and I've been making calls all day trying to find a substitute, but no one seems to have a Mandarin teacher available. It's the most spoken language in the world! Who would think it would be this hard to find someone?!" he complained.

Typical rich boarding-school principle. More worried that the test averages might drop and tarnish their pristine record than the poor sap needing a month off for whatever reason. No one took a month off work for anything good.

It suddenly dawned on him. Kai was in that class. He had been surprised when he first signed up for it. Why would someone so quiet want to take an optional language class? They had to take French and from what he'd heard he was mute there, too. Suddenly it all made sense...he smirked. He was that love sick, huh?

A mischievous little lightbulb went off in Dan's head. His smirk turned devilish.

He wasn't really going to suggest it, was he? That would be a terrible idea.

Ah, who was he kidding, he was absolutely going to...

The principle left the teacher's room. Dan shot up and went after him.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Mr. Harris?"

"I don't know if this would be possible, but I think I know someone who could help..."

"Is that so?" he asked, clearly interested.

"You see, today I met Kai's teammates. You know, the world champion Beyblade team he-"

"I'm aware of who they are, Harris..."

It was true. He loved to tell anyone considering giving money to the school that one of their students was a famous world-class athlete.

"Well you see, one of them is a native Chinese speaker. Maybe we could see if he'd be interested in teaching for the time being. He's very respectable and mature, I'm sure Mr. Dickinson from the BBA would vouch for that..."

"Hmm..." the principle didn't seem too keen.

"The current teacher is excellent, I'm sure, but he's not _native_. This would give the students a chance to practice with a native speaker the same age and get some cultural insight too..."

The principle seemed to warm. Now to aim up the kill shot...

"And Kai seems to actually be quite friendly with him...bringing Rei here could maybe help us with our situation with him, too. You know, help ease him in with the other students...act as a bit of a buffer."

Bang.

"...I'll consider it. Not like I have many other options. It would be a good opportunity for the students to converse with a native speaker their own age..." he repeated Dan's words as if he'd thought of it himself. "...and hell, if you think it would help with Sunshine, I'll definitely think about it."

Dan smiled. His boy really was notorious in this school.

"Well, let me know what you decide, sir...I'd be happy to call him if you wanted." he said innocently before going back to his desk and grading some papers, a sly little smile on his face.

A few hours later, the phone at Tyson's house rang.

"Rei! Phone call!" Granpa's voice called from inside.

Rei turned round and frowned curiously. Who would be calling him? He put his blade down and headed inside, picking up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Rei! Dan Harris here, we met earlier today!"

"Oh...hi...uh, what can I do for you?" He raised an eyebrow. This was certainly unexpected.

"Well, actually...we were wondering if we could hire you."

"Come again?" he asked, completely stumped.

"You see...we have a Chinese language class here. The teacher is out for at least a month...we really need someone to come teach the class and we just can't seem to find anyone..."

"Me? Teach!?"

"Why not! You speak Chinese, don't you?"

"Of course, but..."

"Well then! That's all you need!"

"I don't know if I can..."

"Rei, it's only basic stuff. They need more help with pronunciation than anything, which I'm sure you'd really be able to help them with. And it's only four classes per week."

"Maybe so...but I also have to train..."

"Also no problem! You can train with Kai!"

Rei's face lit up...he'd be with Kai at his school. They could train and hang out together. Maybe he could even help with the whole singing thing and make sure he stayed on the team.

Dan heard the pause and his eyes twinkled.

"We'll be able to provide you with everything you need. Food, accommodation, anything you needed for your class. Of course, we'd also pay you..."

"Oh yeh? What's the going rate for a Chinese teacher?" Rei seemed more interested. Dan gave him the figure. Rei's eyes widened.

"I'll do it!" he almost yelled.

"Really? That's...great! When can you start?"

"When do you want me?"

"Well...I mean we'd want to show you the textbook and settle you in...would tomorrow morning be too soon? Your first class would be that afternoon."

"Nah, that's fine. As long as someone can come get me."

"When can you be ready?"

"Whenever." he answered nonchalantly.

Dan couldn't help but laugh at his laid back attitude. How was this kid so chill about this random proposition?

"I'll be there at about 9am?"

"M'kay. See you tomorrow, then."

They hung up.

Dan laughed to himself again.

" _Maybe it's true what they say. Opposites attract."_

He kept giggling to himself like a naughty child, picturing how royally pissed Kai was going to be.

The next morning, Kai wandered in to his home room as he did every morning. They took all their required subjects as a home room in the morning, and went their own ways for their optional classes in the afternoons.

The others were all sat in their places, chatting amongst themselves. He headed towards his desk at the back of the room.

"Morning, Kai." one of them greeted as he passed.

"..."

He sat down and folded his arms.

The kid who greeted him was called Reuben. He made a point to say 'hi' to him every day, even though for the past year, he'd never once responded.

Mr. Harris watched from his desk at the front and shook his head. This was the kind of crap he really didn't like. Just say hello, for god's sake.

"Will you get the hint already? He isn't going to talk to you...stop wasting your breath on _that_." came a snide voice. It was Giles.

Reuben rolled his eyes, "I'll say 'good morning' to whoever I want."

Kai shot him a quick glare for referring to him as 'that'.

"Well, your desperation to talk to the _foreigner_ is starting to bug me."

Kai glared harder, he really seemed to think since he wasn't born here, he was under him.

"That's enough, Giles...you know I don't like that kind of talk in my class." came Mr. Harris' warning voice.

Giles was a blonde haired, blue eyed little prince. Average height, on the skinny side, silver spoon up his butt. Kai loathed him. People had called him arrogant, but he at least had a skill to back that up. This guy was arrogant just because he was an entitled little rich boy with an important daddy. He didn't particularly excel at anything, why did he need to? He was loaded. He sucked.

Giles huffed and turned back to the front.

Mr. Harris got on with the morning announcements before taking his leave, the math teacher coming in just as the bell went to start their morning classes.

Dan got in his car and forgot about the slight unpleasantness in his class. He started the engine and headed to pick up Rei.

Suddenly, he felt nervous. When he pitched the idea, he thought it was a great idea...now he was having second thoughts. Kai already didn't like him very much...oh well... too late now, he guessed. He just prayed this wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass.

He pulled up at the house, the bubbly Chinese boy was outside waiting for him. He gave a friendly wave before getting in to the car.

"Morning, Mr. Harris! Thanks for picking me up!"

"Call me Dan. And it's us that needs to thank you. You're really helping us out."

"Well...I can't promise I'll be any good at it..."

"Ahhh, you'll be fine!" he waved his comment off.

"So...how many students are in the class?" Rei asked nervously.

"Only six. It's uh...I'm sorry to say it's not the most popular class."

Rei chuckled. He was pretty relieved it would only be a small group. He had imagined standing in front of a room full of people.

They arrived at the school gates and Rei's mouth fell open.

It looked like a modern day Hogwarts or something. Kai went here?!

A gravel driveway lead up to beautiful, grand, elegant brick and stone buildings that were surrounded by gravel paths, well-kept gardens and grass. There were even some statues and a water fountain in the courtyard.

Dan smiled when he saw Rei's face.

"Fancy, isn't it?"

"That's an understatement!

"When I came here for my job interview, I almost didn't go in. Didn't think they'd hire someone like me here. They must have been desperate."

Rei laughed. "Yeh, I'm worried I'm going to be shown the door as soon as I walk in."

"Ah they're not that bad. And if anybody does say anything, remember, you are a teacher here. Dish out detentions to your heart's content."

Rei snickered again. He liked the sound of that.

Mr. Harris took him to meet the principle, and the three of them took a tour of the school.

Rei had never seen anything like it in his life. Stone archways guided them through the wide, tall halls. Their shoes clacking on the wooden floors and echoing as they walked. The walls decorated in beautiful artwork. Glass cabinets filled with trophies and awards the students had won over the years. He stopped as he caught a glimpse of a familiar face among them. Kai's picture shown with a gold medal around his neck. He smiled. He knew he probably hated it.

They continued walking. He managed to peak in to the classrooms as he walked by, seas of blue jackets studying hard at their desks.

Dan beckoned Rei over to him.

"This is my class." he whispered.

Rei peeped through the small window in the door and felt himself light up.

They were in the middle of a social studies class by the look of it. His blue-haired friend taking notes glancing up at the board occasionally. He looked so...studious.

He'd never seen Kai study before. Why would he have? It wasn't a big deal, but for some reason, it made his stomach flutter.

Dan quickly pulled him away from the window, before he was spotted and carried on down the hall.

"Well, that's most of the school. We should really show you what you'll be teaching today. I'll show you around the rest later on today, if that's all right."

"Of course! No problem!" Rei's positive voice replied.

They took him to the teacher's room. He had his own desk and everything. Rei suddenly felt very important and grown up. He was a teacher at a real fancy-ass school...even if it was just for a little while...

The bell went and they all went to lunch. Except for one. As usual.

Kai always grabbed something small and either trained or took himself to the library during lunch. It really was a beautiful library. Stone walls and stone staircases, dark wooden bookshelves, stained glass windows. There was a smell of old books and history in there. And there were so many little corners to hide away in and disappear. Kai liked being in there. It was quiet and peaceful. He never got bothered by anyone there.

He lost himself in a book for the hour. The 10-minute warning bell went. He sighed and forced himself to put it down.

Next was Chinese.

After yesterday, he wasn't really in the mood for it.

He made his way to the small class room and sat himself down with the other five students. Luckily, these guys hadn't given him a reason to hate them yet. They weren't loud or annoying. They were just there to study Chinese. Kai was fine with that.

The bell went.

They waited.

The door opened and the principle walked in. The five boys immediately stood up, straight as arrows, as was expected when the principle entered the room. Kai also stood, but not quite so quickly.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen."

"Good afternoon, sir!" they answered back loudly in unison.

"I'm afraid I've some unfortunate news. Mr. Golding has had to take a leave of absence from school. He should return in about a month."

The boys glanced at each other.

"We've acquired a substitute for the mean time. He is not what you are accustomed to in a teacher, but he is to be treated as any other teacher at this school. Any reports of behaviour found to be less than respectful will not go unpunished, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

All six of them were curious what he meant by that.

The principle went back to the door. The boys remained standing.

He opened the door and gestured for him to come in. The young, long-haired figure entered the room.

Kai's gasped in surprise and for a second, his heart stopped.

"Ni hao, every...one...Kai?"

Rei was equally surprised. What was Kai doing here?

Kai was too stunned to say anything. Too many questions.

The other five boys looked between the two as they stared at each other.

"Um...excuse me, aren't you Rei? From Kai's team?" one of them asked.

Rei managed to tear his eyes away from him and looked over at the other students.

"Yes! That's right! My name is Rei Kon. I'll be holding the fort while your teacher is away."

The principle put a hand on Rei's shoulder.

"As is customary at St. Tristan's, please introduce yourselves to your new teacher." he ordered.

The first boy stepped from behind his desk. Head up. Hands by his side. Almost like a soldier.

"My name is David Winterbourne. A pleasure to meet you, sir." he bowed. Rei was a little taken aback at the almost military-like formality.

The next did the same.

"My name is Andrew Crawford. A pleasure to meet you, sir." Bow.

And the others.

Callum Darlington. Bow.

Steven Hampton. Bow.

Alexander Ramsey. Bow.

….

The principle shot Kai a look.

"He knows who I am..." he said with his arms folded defiantly.

The principle cleared his throat loudly.

Kai rolled his eyes and huffed before stepping to the side of his desk, his arms falling to his sides. Rei had to fight hard not to grin.

"My name is Kai Hiwatari. A pleasure to meet you, _sir_." he bowed...not as well as the others. But he did it.

In his head, Rei was laughing his ass off. That must have killed him.

"I'll leave you to your class..." the principle said finally before leaving the room.

The six boys were still standing. Looking at him.

"You...can sit down?" Rei said. He certainly wasn't used to this kind of thing.

Chairs squeaked against the floor as the bodies sat down obediently.

"Ok...so..." his mind went blank. He began to get nervous and panic as the students looked at him attentively.

One of the cleared his throat and raised his hand.

"Uh...yes?"

"Mr. Kon, sir. Last class we finished up to page 24. We were supposed to do page 30 to 33 in the workbook as homework."

"Oh! Right! Thank you. So uh...open your books to page 24 and I guess we'll check your homework...and call me Rei, guys..."

The went over the material again. He checked the answers to their homework. He was surprised that Kai had gotten it all. Why was he taking this class, though? Didn't seem like something he'd want to do.

"Ok! So I've been told you all need help with pronunciation...I know Chinese is really difficult to get all the tones right at first. So I suggest we do some speaking practice. Since there aren't many of you, I'll do you all one on one. In the mean time, practice the dialog on page 24 on your own."

They instantly did as they were told. Rei got a bit of a rush from it. He felt weirdly powerful.

He took them one by one to some desks at the back of the room. Most of them were really struggling to say it right. But they got there. Rei was already enjoying this. It felt really rewarding.

He felt excitement knowing that last but not least, he'd get to hear Kai speaking his language. He felt really happy that Kai had chosen it. He could help him! This was going to be great.

"Ok, Alex, nice job! So that just leaves Kai...Kai?"

His seat was empty.

"Where did Kai go?"

The others looked up from their books and looked around.

"I'm sorry, Rei. I have no idea...bathroom maybe? I didn't hear him leave."

"Me either...that's weird."

Rei frowned and walked over to his desk. All his stuff was gone. His heart sank.

He'd...ditched his class? Why would he do that?

Kai stormed down the hall towards the teacher's room. Fury in his eyes.

What he hell was his idiot home room teacher thinking? First the chorus, now this!? He'd gone too far. And he wasn't having it.

He banged on the door to the teacher's room. Mr. Paxley, the English teacher opened the door.

"Yes?"

"Is Harris here?" he asked violently.

"I think you'll find that's _Mr_. Harris."

"Is he here or not?" he asked annoyed.

"I don't think I like your tone, young man..."

Mr. Harris appeared in the door. He'd heard him from his desk.

"Kai? Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I think you and I need to have a little _chat_." he said through grit teeth.

Dan felt a little intimidated. He looked livid. He was expecting this, but seeing it in the flesh was a lot scarier than he'd imagined.

"All right...let's talk..." he led Kai to an empty classroom.

As soon as the door closed, Kai erupted.

"What the hell are you playing at?! First you pull that crap with Mr. Dickinson and now _this_?!"

"We needed a substitute for the class, Kai..." he replied calmly.

"I hardly think a teenaged boy is an appropriate substitute teacher!" he yelled back.

"We really couldn't get any one else! Honest! And Rei was willing to help..."

"He needs to go."

"Why?"

"What do you mean _why_!?"

"No, really. Why? What's wrong with Rei teaching the class? He's young, sure. But he was approved by the principle, he's a native Chinese speaker...so what's the problem?"

"Because..." Kai was suddenly lost for words and didn't have a comeback.

"Yes?"

"Because..."

"Mmm hmmmmm?"

Kai got flustered. So Dan decided to help him out.

"Is it maybe because you can't stand him having authority over you? Or maybe it's because you don't want to look stupid in front of him? Or maybe..." he cocked a sly eyebrow. Kai knew where he was heading.

"Don't you dare go there again!" Kai warned aggressively, his face betraying him by turning red again.

Dan knew it wasn't worth the rage that would follow.

"Well, whatever your reasons for being so upset are, I'm afraid it's too bad. He's here for the time being. You're just going to have to deal with it."

He turned and began to walk out the room.

"Oh, and Kai...?"

"What?" he growled.

"Chorus practice starts at three tomorrow. I expect you there." he said sternly, without even turning around and closed the door.

Kai's hands balled in to fists. He was so pissed he was shaking a little. He swore loudly in Russian and kicked a desk.

As Dan walked down the hall, he heard the cursing and the thud. He smirked to himself. Feeling victorious.

He went back to the teachers room and spotted Rei at his desk, resting his cheek in his hand, looking a bit down.

"Hey, Rei! How was class?" he asked.

"Fine...I guess...Why didn't you tell me Kai was in that class?"

"I thought it would be a nice surprise." he answered innocently.

"And from his reaction, you didn't tell him I was coming either..."

"Again, thought it would be a nice surprise."

"He didn't seem to like it..."

"Oh? He didn't give you any trouble, did he?" he knew the answer, but pretended he didn't know.

"...he left." he said sadly.

"You know what he's like..."

"Do you think he's...embarrassed of me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well...everyone here is from a wealthy background and I'm...just a nobody from a little village in China..."

Harris felt bad. He looked really hurt by Kai leaving.

"That's definitely not it."

Rei looked up as Dan sat next to him.

"You know it isn't that. He's not like that."

"Then why did he ditch my class?"

"Honestly, Rei. How long have you known him?"

"Like...three years."

"Would it be inaccurate to call him a bit of a know-it-all?"

"Not at all..." Rei smirked.

"If he's embarrassed about anything, it's speaking terrible Chinese in front of you."

"Why would he be embarrassed?"

"Because he actually likes you. I'm sure it matters to him what you think of him."

Rei's eyes beamed.

"You really think so?"

Dan nodded, "Don't you dare tell him I said that..."

Rei laughed, "My lips are sealed."

A woman came in to the teachers room.

"Ah! There you two are...I'm afraid we have a little problem..."

"What's wrong?" Dan asked.

"The room we had for Mr. Kon here isn't quite ready yet...something needs replacing, apparently. It won't be ready until tomorrow. I'm really sorry!" she apologised.

Another mischievous lightbulb went off in Dan's head.

Kai was sat at his desk in his room. He was tapping his pen against the desk with his head resting on his other hand.

He had his headphones in, listening to the CD from his Chinese textbook. Listening and repeating while simultaneously trying to do his math homework.

There was a knock at the door. He didn't hear it.

On the other side of the door. Mr. Harris and Rei waited. There was no answer.

They knocked again, still nothing.

Dan pressed his ear against the door. He could hear Kai's voice.

He gently turned the handle and pushed it open, walking in quietly and leading Rei in.

Kai was still oblivious with his headphones in.

"Wǒ shì xuéshēng...Tā shì lǎoshī..."

Rei couldn't help but grin. Dan looked at him and gave him a wink.

He stepped forward and tapped the studying student on the shoulder. He jumped out his skin, followed by his seat and ripping the headphones out his ears.

"Don't you knock!?" he yelled, annoyed and embarrassed.

"We did! Several times!" Dan laughed.

"What do you want?" he snapped, his face suddenly softened when he noticed Dan wasn't alone...and oh god, why was Rei holding a sleeping bag?

"Well...there's a bit of a problem with Rei's room. Won't be able to get in there until tomorrow...so I thought he could stay in here with you tonight! You don't _mind_ , do you?" he asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

Kai glared daggers at him.

"...sorry Kai...it'll just be for tonight..." Rei said sheepishly, sensing he did mind.

"It's fine, Rei..." he sighed. He really, really hated Harris right now. But that wasn't Rei's fault.

"Great! I'll leave you guys to it! Night boys!" he said cheerfully as he started to leave. He turned around behind Rei and mouthed "You're welcome..." at Kai, whose eye twitched before he hurried out.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hope you enjoyed! Would really appreciate any comments! :)


	3. Mongrel

Thank you to everyone who left a review! Really means a lot! Hope you enjoy the next chapter! :)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 3 – Mongrel

Kai's alarm went off the next morning at 5am, as always.

He prized his eyes open. Blinking himself awake. He forced himself to sit up and stretched his back. His body was stiff. He'd insisted on taking the floor. He glanced over at the boy sleeping peacefully in his bed.

Fucking Harris...he would get him back for this somehow...

Even if he hated admitting it to himself, it had been kind of nice hanging out with Rei last night. Just the two of them.

They'd only spent the evening working. Rei seemed to be taking this teaching job very seriously and wanted to plan his class for the next day, Kai had to study. They occasionally had little snippets of conversation in between. But the silence never felt awkward, like always.

He quietly stood up, getting washed and changed in to sweats and leaving the room.

Every morning, Kai went running around the school field, whatever the season or weather. No one else was up at this time. It was just him, the sound of his breathing and his feet hitting the ground.

Around 6:30am every morning, he came back to his room, showered and got ready for the day.

Today would be the same.

Sweaty but revitalised, he made his way back to his room. He'd really pushed himself this morning. He'd needed to sweat out his frustration after this week.

He gently opened the door, not wanting to wake Rei up. As he entered, he heard the sound of the shower in his en suite running. Rei must be up already.

He slouched in to his desk chair, kicking his legs out and stretching them. He had a feeling they were going to be sore by the end of the day.

The bathroom door opened.

"Oh! You're back!" came a startled voice.

Kai turned to him and froze.

In front of him, Rei stood with a red towel loosely wrapped around his waist. Drops of water dripping down his well-toned body as he towel dried his hair.

Kai quickly realized he was staring, feeling his face and body warm up, he spun around in his chair to face his desk.

"Yeh...I hope I didn't wake you up when I left."

"Oh, no! I woke up about half an hour ago..." Rei answered as he moved back to the bed where his bag lay.

Kai peeked over his shoulder to make sure his back was turned and quickly ran in to the bathroom. Locking the door behind him.

Rei looked over before taking the opportunity to get dressed while he was alone.

Kai turned the temperature controller to cold, braced himself, and quickly turned on the shower.

He tensed and let out a gasp as the freezing water made contact.

" _Fuck!_ " he cursed under his breath as his body shivered and cooled off.

He turned the water temperature back to normal and got on with his shower. Hating his life.

He got out and also wrapped his towel around his waist.

Then he cursed himself again.

As he stood there dripping, he realized his uniform was in the room. He was in such a hurry to get in the bathroom, he'd forgotten it.

Fantastic...

He opened the door to the bathroom, wisps of steam escaping.

"Uh...Rei?"

"Yeh?"

"Could you...not look a minute?" he asked, trying not to sound like a shy idiot.

He heard Rei's chuckle.

"I won't look..."

Kai took a breath and forced himself to leave the bathroom. Clutching his towel to make sure it didn't fall. Rei was sitting on the bed, facing the wall as not to look, brushing his hair.

He quickly put his pants on. The worst was covered. He could relax.

What he didn't know was that the cheeky Chinese had broken his promise and taken a peek over his shoulder.

He finished dressing, doing his tie in the mirror.

"Can I look now?" Rei asked impatiently.

"Yeh."

He swivelled himself around and let out a smile as he watched him finish his tie and slip on his blazer, pulling at the lapels to straighten them out and fastening the buttons.

"You know...that uniform really suits you. You look good..." he blurted out.

Kai's breath hitched in his throat. His face behaved itself, in that it only turned a very subtle shade of pink. He kept his eyes on the mirror.

"Uh...thanks...not exactly my taste, but way better than the one we have to wear in junior high. Green jacket. Really not my color."

Rei chuckled.

Kai glanced up at the clock.

"I gotta go..." he said as turned to his desk, putting a few books in to his bag.

"All right...are you...?"

Kai turned back to him.

"Are you going to come to my class today?" he asked quietly.

Kai felt guilty. He was so angry with Harris yesterday he'd lost his temper and just walked out.

"Yeh. I'll be there..."

Rei's face brightened.

"Good...I guess...I'll see you then. Have a good morning."

Kai nodded his goodbye as he put his bag over his shoulder and left.

He wandered out of the dormitories and towards the main school building, through the halls to his home room.

"Morning, Kai." came Reuben's voice, as always.

He ignored him, as always, and sat down.

And so began yet another day.

The first four periods went by at a glacial pace. Finally, the bell rang for lunch. He could escape for an hour. Sort of. Today he needed to catch up on some homework. Maybe he'd just stay here at his desk today. Hardly escaping, but he'd have some peace.

The other members of his class filed out the room quickly. Leaving him alone. Just as he liked.

Meanwhile, Rei looked around the busy dining hall, holding his tray. Dan had suggested he go down to go get lunch with the other students instead of hanging around with the 'old people' as he put it. He scanned the room looking for Kai. He couldn't see him anywhere. In a room of blonde, brown and black hair, you'd think he would be easy to spot.

"Hey Rei! Over here!"

He followed the voice and saw David from the Chinese class waving to him.

Rei smiled and wandered over to them, placing his tray down.

"Thanks!" he said gratefully.

"No problem, let me introduce you to the guys. Well...you already know Callum from class yesterday. This is Scotty and Reuben."

Rei nodded at them and said 'hey'.

"Scotty and Reuben are in Kai's home room."

"Oh...well, nice to meet you. I'm Rei."

"Yeh, from the Bladebreakers, right?" Scotty said.

"That's right."

"Awesome! You guys are amazing!"

"Heh, thanks..."

There was a pause.

"Speaking of Bladebreakers...you guys seen Kai anywhere?" he asked.

"Kai?" David laughed, "He doesn't eat here with us Muggles."

"What do you mean? Where does he eat?"

"Who knows...he just kind of disappears."

Rei let out a small laugh, typical Kai.

"Is he...always like that with you, too?" Reuben asked suddenly, referring to his friend's aloofness.

"Sort of...it's gotten much better than when we first met."

"How did you get him to talk to you?" he asked.

"I didn't really...I don't think? He just...warmed to us over time, I guess."

"Oh..." the kid sounded disappointed with his answer.

"Why?"

He didn't say anything. Scotty answered for him.

"Ah, Reuben here has said hello to him every single day since the year started, he's never replied once. Doesn't give up tryin' though."

"Really?" Rei asked, frowning. That was a bit much, he thought, even for Kai.

"It's fine, really." Reuben protested, "I'll just...keep trying, I guess."

"Why do you bother, Reub? Most people would have given up by now." Callum asked.

"I just...don't like seeing people alone. He doesn't have _anybody_ here. Must be lonely...Even if he doesn't reply, I just want him to know someone sees him."

Rei let a soft smile cross his face, this kid was clearly a sensitive type. But seemed like a genuinely nice person.

"Ha! Who gives a shit? It's his own fault for being such a socially deranged weirdo..." came a voice from behind them.

Reuben and Scotty sighed. Without turning around, they knew who it was.

"A pleasure as always, Giles..."

Rei frowned angrily and turned to face the guy.

The blonde, smarmy-looking boy stood behind them looking smug with his arms folded. Two of his equally smarmy friends stood on either side of him.

"Don't call him that." Rei growled.

"Ohh...and who do we have here? You're _clearly_ not a student here..." he said nastily as he looked him up and down like he was trash.

"No, I'm a teacher, actually." Rei bit back.

"You? A teacher? Here?" he said in amused disbelief.

"He's the substitute teacher for our Chinese class." Callum answered coldly. He didn't like this dude either.

"Well...looks like standards are slipping..." he mocked, cruelly.

"Fuck off, Giles..." Scotty bit.

Giles just smirked at him before turning back to Rei.

"I imagine you and the foreigner get on quite well. Now you both have something else in common...neither of you belong here."

Rei's eyes slit and he let out another growl. He wanted to confront him...but he was technically a teacher.

It was too late anyway, he'd already started walking away, his friends following behind him, snickering.

The three snobs headed back to Giles' home room. It was usually empty over lunch, so they just hung out in there. But today, Kai unfortunately happened to be in there.

Giles looked at him, his eyes glinting, sensing an opportunity for some fun.

Kai looked up as he heard them enter, before looking back down at his book. He ignored them, but felt uncomfortable.

Giles turned to his friends and winked at them, letting them know to play along.

"Can you believe what they dragged in to teach the Chinese class?" he began to his friends.

Kai's grip on his pen got tighter.

"This used to be a high-class school...it used to have some pride...the highest quality teachers to teach the elite...but it seems they're starting to let any old riff-raff here nowadays..." he shot a look over at Kai.

Kai couldn't help but look up and glare back.

"I'd watch your mouth if I were you..." he said coolly.

"Oh yeh? What are you gonna do if I don't, _mongrel_?" he spat viciously, feeling overly cocky with his two friends there.

There was a snap in Kai's mind. He felt his temper soar in an instant.

Giles always picked on his half Russian, half Japanese heritage. He'd called him 'foreigner' a million times. But he'd never dared to throw a dirty word like that at him before.

And he had been smart not to until this point. Kai did not like that. One bit. He raised from his seat, eyes fixed on him, temper clearly rising. He slowly walked over to him, holding his cold, hard stare.

If he wasn't already mad at him for bashing his friend, maybe he would have been calmer.

But he wasn't.

He squared up to the poison-tongued little prick, who raised an eyebrow, but his eyes showed he was scared. Kai had never risen to his provocations before.

"...what?" he asked, trying to sound unphased.

Kai grabbed him, throwing him in to the desk behind him. The desk toppled over with a hard thud, Giles hitting the ground along with it.

His two friends, clearly startled, took off instantly.

" _Figures...pussies..."_ Kai thought to himself before turning back to Giles, who was winded on the floor.

"Aw, did you fall down? Here...let me help you up..." he grabbed him by the front of his jacket, heaving him up, and slamming him roughly against the wall his feet barely touching the ground.

Giles looked terrified. He was breathing quickly.

"You wait...until my father hears...about this..." he panted out.

"You think I give a _fuck_ about your daddy?" he mocked.

Giles kept panting, eyes fixed on the flaming violet ones staring angrily back. He slammed him against the wall again.

"You think you're the only one with money? That you're the only one who knows people?" he asked, holding his terrifying stare.

Giles didn't answer.

"Maybe my English is a little rusty...being a _foreigner_ and all...but I'm pretty sure a mongrel is a word for a mixed-breed _dog_..." he said dangerously in a dark, growling voice. Giles felt a shiver of fear run down his spine.

"You know the thing about dogs?" he whispered as he moved his face closer to him. "You keep provoking them...they _bite._ "

Giles' breathing got a little heavier. He was clearly scared.

Kai smirked at him for his weakness, before it disappeared again.

"I hear you say anything about my friend again...or you throw another _filthy_ word like that my way again...I will reach in to your mouth and rip that vile little tongue of yours right out your pretty little mouth...you got that?"

Giles was about to nod, when the door threw open.

"What on _earth_ is going on here?!" came an angry yell.

Shit. The two buddies went and got Harris and another teacher. They were livid. They stomped over to the two and pulled them apart within seconds. Taking one each by the shoulders.

"Thank god you're here! He's a lunatic!" Giles blubbed as he pleaded the victim.

"Quiet, Giles." Dan yelled. "You'll get your chance to tell your side. Both of you, come with us _now._ "

Giles got dragged off, while Kai got pulled in to the main teacher's room.

"Sit down..." Dan ordered.

Kai obeyed.

"What the hell was all that about?" he asked angrily.

Kai folded his arms and closed his eyes. Not answering.

"Oh, no you don't!" he said, annoyed as he sat down, meeting Kai's level. "Don't give me that god damn silent treatment! Why did I just catch you holding another student against the wall?"

Kai frowned and opened eyes, a slight growl of frustration left his throat.

"Because someone needs to stand up to that asshole! He walks around running his mouth like he can get away with it. Because usually, he can!"

"It's not up to you to discipline him, Kai..."

"Oh? So when exactly are any of you gonna grow a backbone and do something about him?" he spat back, looking around the teacher's room.

"Kai..." he warned as he felt the other teachers in the room react to his student disrespecting them.

"No, really. Are you all so scared he'll go running to his dad if you call him out on his crap? Real great examples your setting..." he mocked angrily.

"That's enough!" Dan raised his voice.

Kai stood up, his temper had risen again.

"Yes! It _is_ enough! Do something about him and fast, he's a bully and no one can stand him! If he ever says anything like that to me again, I'll rip out his throat. Thenyou'll _really_ have a problem on your hands!" he yelled, enraged.

Dan frowned, his voice softened.

"What exactly did he say to you? I know you, you wouldn't fly off the handle like this over nothing."

Kai tensed. His voice calmed.

"It doesn't matter...and you're wrong. You don't know me. Stop pretending you do."

Dan wanted to say something, but the teacher's room door flew open.

The principle slowly entered the room, made eye contact with Kai and nodded for him to follow him. He stood up.

The bell went. Class started in five minutes.

" _Shit..."_ Kai thought. He'd promised Rei he'd be there today...this maybe would take a while.

Rei set up at the front of the class, feeling excited. He'd working on his lesson all evening yesterday. It was going to be way better than yesterday, and maybe Kai would be less embarrassed to talk with him this time.

He looked at the desks, five of the six students were there. Just waiting on him...that was nothing new though.

The bell went. The other boys looked to him, waiting for him to start.

" _Guess he's...running late."_ he thought to himself, before starting the class.

Five minutes passed, then ten, then twenty...

He wasn't coming...

His heart sank.

Meanwhile, Kai was getting chewed out by the furious principle. Kai yelled back, telling him about Giles' lack of respect for anyone, what he'd said about Rei and what he'd been called.

"The point is, young man, violence is _not_ tolerated at this school! I have a good mind to suspend you for attacking another student!"

To his surprise, Kai smirked before feigning a sad, woeful face.

"Then I guess I'll have no choice to share with the PTA about how I reported cases of racial discrimination that fell completely on deaf ears...Tell me sir, is it the Asian part of me you don't like? Or the Russian? I'm just sorry I'm not pure blooded enough for this school..."

The principle's eye twitched.

He walked out of his office ten minutes later with five days of detention. Giles was to get the same. Good enough.

He had to go and tell Mr. Harris, since he'd be the one in charge of it.

He knocked on the door to the teacher's room before letting himself in.

"YOU!"

Oh crap, Rei.

The angry Chinese stormed up to him and folded his arms.

"Before you get all mad, Rei. I didn't skip your class, I was-"

"In the principle's office. I know! How could you be so stupid!?"

Apparently he'd heard all about it.

"Excuse me?" Kai raised an eyebrow. The two clearly forgetting this was the teacher's room...there was an audience.

"This is so typical of you, Kai! You let your temper get the better of you!"

"Who are you!? My _mom?_!"

"No, but someone needs to say it to you!"

"I really don't need a lecture from you, Rei!"

"Just...what happened?" Rei asked, annoyed.

Kai gave him the basic rundown without telling him what Giles had said about Rei or what he'd called him. Just said he said 'something'.

Rei stayed quiet for a moment, the two of them still not really taking notice of the few teachers still in the staffroom.

"So what you're saying is, if someone is being a jerk, people should stand up to them?"

"Exactly!" Kai said, relieved someone finally got it.

Rei smirked before stepping up to him and smacking him around the head.

"Ow!" he yelled in surprise, "What the hell was that for?!"

"You're a jerk!"

"I told you, it wasn't my fault I missed your class!"

"I wasn't talking about me! I was talking about Reuben!"

"Reuben? What about him!?" Kai raised his voice, annoyed and confused.

"He talks to you every single day, and you can't even respond!? You don't have to give him your life story, Kai. He just wants you to say 'hi'!"

Harris smirked from behind his desk. He liked Rei a lot.

"I thought he'd stop after the first few times, but he never did. It's not my problem he doesn't get the hint..." Kai huffed as he folded his arms.

"Do you hear yourself!?" Rei shrieked. "I really don't know why you've got to be this way with people, Kai. Whatever your issue is, fix it. Because it _sucks_! You may not say mean things, but the way you treat people sometimes is no better than Giles!"

Mr. Harris nodded silently behind his desk in agreement. Did he mention he liked Rei?

Kai growled, he wasn't in the mood for this. He turned and began to head out the door.

Mr. Harris stood up from behind his desk.

"Uh, Kai?"

"What!?" he turned around angrily.

Mr. Harris smiled and pointed at the clock.

"It's almost three o'clock..."

"So?"

"Don't tell me you forgot your first chorus practise?"

His face dropped.

"You can't be serious..." he said almost weakly.

"I am! So turn that frown upside down and let's go meet everyone!"

Rei couldn't help but laugh quietly at the face on the old Sourpuss as Harris came over, took him by the shoulders and lead him away.

"Good luck!" Rei called after him, half serious, half teasing.

Kai did his best on the way to try and get Harris to reconsider. But he wouldn't budge.

Most unexpectedly, he felt a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach as they approached the music room.

Mr. Harris opened the door and gently pushed him in.

The twenty or so students waiting and chatting fell silent.

"...Kai?" came a voice.

Scotty from his home room was there.

Kai had no idea he was in the chorus. Why would he? They never talked.

"What is _he_ doing here?" came another voice.

The others too, puzzled as to why the school mute was here.

"Boys, I'd like you to meet the new member of our chorus!"

There was a melodic uproar of "What?!" including Kai.

"Now hold on a second, I never said I was joining!" Kai hissed at him.

"Yeh!" came another voice, "being a member of a chorus requires having a _voice._..." he said sarcastically.

"Boys, boys, boys!" Mr. Harris calmed them all. "I understand where both of you are coming from. Guys, just because he's quiet doesn't mean he doesn't possess a voice. And Kai, you just haven't seen what we're about yet. So today, let's show you what we've got and we'll go from there. Sound good?"

Kai folded his arms and let out a 'hn'.

Mr. Harris pulled over a chair and pushed him down in to it gently before running to the piano.

"All right, boys. You know the drill. Show him what we're made of!"

The boys immediately got in to position. Lining up in their places. Their hands behind their backs, their legs slightly parted.

Kai folded his arms and legs. He just wanted to leave.

The piano began. Then came the voices.

They sang something in a language Kai didn't know. Latin, maybe? He guessed.

Deep voices and higher voices harmonised perfectly. Tenor, bass and baritone working as one. They were good.

They kept singing, reaching the climactic point of the song where their already powerful voices really hit notes that Kai hated to admit gave him goosebumps. But he kept his composure and didn't let it show.

The song came to a close. The piano stopped. Their posture relaxed and they all looked at Kai for his reaction.

He clapped politely.

Mr. Harris stood up from the piano.

"Well? What did you think?"

All eyes were on him. Once again, Kai hated him.

"It was good, I guess..."

"You _guess!?"_ one of them spat.

"Look, I don't know what you want from me! This isn't really my thing..." Kai complained.

"Then why are you here!?" Another student demanded.

Kai got mad and stood up, not enjoying the feeling of being attacked by these guys.

"I'm not here by choice! It's him who's making me!" he pointed at the teacher.

He regretted that instantly. In his haste, he hadn't thought that now they'd want to know _why_ he was making him do it. Maybe Rei was right. Maybe he did let his temper get the better of him.

Mr. Harris' eyes told him he saw his mistake too. _God_ he hated him.

And then...

"Why would you make _him_ join our chorus?!"

Mr. Harris raised an eyebrow at Kai. He saw him freeze, wondering what he was going to say.

He turned to the group.

"I have my reasons. They aren't your concern..."

"But-"

"No buts! Just...trust me, OK?"

There was whispering amongst them.

"Right, boys...I know it's short but we'll leave it there for today. You are dismissed."

The boys shot Kai looks on the way out. Kai ignored them and turned to leave as well.

"Uh buh buh...where do you think you're going?" Mr. Harris asked him.

"...you just dismissed everyone."

"Yeh. Them. _We_ have an hour of detention together."

"Oh good. Today just keeps getting better and better."

"Oh, stop complaining and come here."

Kai huffed and walked over to him.

"So...show me what you got." Mr. Harris said in a laid back voice.

"...what do you mean?"

"Sing."

"No."

Mr. Harris sighed.

"Just try."

"No."

"How are you going to be in a chorus if you don't sing?"

Kai huffed again, getting irritated.

"I actually play the piano pretty well. If I really have to do this, can't I play that instead?"

"Oh yeh? Show me..."

Kai couldn't believe he had maybe found a way out of it.

He set himself down next to Harris at the piano and began to play something he remembered off the top of his head by Beethoven.

He finished and looked over at him.

"Very good..." his teacher commended.

"Does that mean I can do this instead?" he asked hopefully, a little surprised at how easy that was.

"Oh, heavens no." Mr. Harris laughed, "You're still gonna sing."

Kai's jaw dropped, followed by a scowl.

"Why!?"

"Look. I just asked you to show me what you can do on the piano and you did it without hesitating. I asked you to sing something and you choked and pulled away."

"That's a little different isn't it?!" Kai argued, feeling cheated.

"Why is it?"

"I know how to play the piano. I can't sing!"

"Sure you can. Anyone can. Not necessarily well, but they can. You're not even willing to try."

Kai clenched his teeth. He was not in the mood for this.

Mr. Harris saw it and felt bad for the kid. It had been a crappy day for him. First the fight with Giles, getting chewed out, arguing with Rei and then the less than warm welcome from the chorus...maybe he was asking too much of him.

"Look, I'm going to let you go now...our little secret...but we do this again tomorrow. And I want you to pick something to sing for me. I don't care if it's a nursery rhyme. Anything is fine. Just...sing."

Kai didn't reply, he just picked up his bag and stomped off, taking himself to the sanctuary of his room and throwing himself on the bed again.

He let out an exasperated sigh, today also had been awful. Why was this week trying so hard to ruin him? He rolled over and buried his face in the pillow.

As he breathed in, he noticed the pillow still smelled like Rei from the night before. Suddenly he felt better.

The next morning, he walked in to his home room as always.

"Morning Kai!" Reuben said as always as he passed.

He stopped and gripped the strap of his bag tightly.

"...Hey." he replied quietly before he kept walking.

Reuben's jaw dropped, dumbstruck. The whole class stopped what they were doing and turned around, including Mr. Harris at the front who looked up, shocked.

Kai ignored them and sat himself at his desk. Reuben turned back to the front, looking like a kid who had been given that puppy they'd always wanted for Christmas.

Pretty much the whole class had a small smile on their face.

Mr. Harris included, who had a cheekier smirk.

" _Oh god, please hurry up and ask Rei on a date...he's sooooo good for you..."_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hope you enjoyed! I know a lot happened, but hope it was good!

Any comments would be very much appreciated!


	4. Sherlock and Watson

**This chapter is rated M for a brief scene of an adult nature from the very start. If you don't want to read it, please don't.**

 **I don't want to change the whole story to an M rating, as it's probably just this chapter. If I do another one, I'll change it. But you have been warned.**

Also! This is quite a fluffy, lovey-dovey teenage romance chapter. Since the last one was a bit serious. Please enjoy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 4 – Sherlock and Watson

 **(Adult stuff: Start. Wasn't kidding when I said right from the start)**

Kai was studying at his desk in his room. Bored. His eyes scanning over the dull pages of his textbook.

He threw down his pen, letting out a tired sigh and rubbed his eyes. He jumped as suddenly he felt hands take his shoulders and start to massage them.

"You work too hard..." a familiar voice whispered in to his ear.

The hands pushed his shoulders so that his chair swivelled around to meet him.

Rei. Not just Rei. Naked Rei.

Kai was paralysed as his eyes roamed over the unexpected bare, tanned body right in front of him.

"Why don't I help you relax a little?" he asked, smirking at the stunned expression on the other.

He slowly straddled him on the chair and wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him in to a passionate kiss.

Kai's hands roamed the warm, soft skin on top of him.

At his touch, Rei began to kiss harder and breathed harder. As they continued to kiss, he undid Kai's tie and tossed it aside, undoing the buttons of his shirt and slipping his hands inside.

Hands explored skin and lips pressed against each other before Rei finally broke away, wanting more.

He climbed off Kai and kneeled down on the floor. Undoing his belt and zipper and pulling impatiently at them. Kai lifted his hips up to help him, his pants soon pulled down round his ankles. Rei pushed his knees apart and shuffled between them before running his tongue up his length, the other to gasped.

Pleased with the reaction, Rei took him slowly in his mouth.

Kai moaned out loudly, his mind fogged at the sudden warm, wet pleasure engulfing him.

Rei continued to suck, building up in speed, gaining him heavy pants and groans.

Rei enjoyed the sounds and the feeling of Kai's thigh muscles tensing in pleasure, he took one of his hands and reached between his own legs, touching himself.

Rei finally pulled away and stood up, leaning over, resting his hands on Kai's thighs, and kissing him.

"I need you..."he told him huskily.

That was all Kai needed.

He stood up, kicking the chair away and bent Rei over the desk, he ran his hands over his back and planted kisses down his spine..

"Please..." Rei begged breathlessly, looking back at him over his shoulder.

Kai positioned himself and gently eased himself in. The two of them letting out long, ecstatic groans.

Kai began to thrust, slowly.

"Oh _Kai_..." Rei moaned out, his flushed face to the side planted on the desk.

The sound of him moaning his name was almost too much. He grunted as he began to move a little faster.

" _Oh...Kai...Kai..."_

 **beep beep beep beep beep.**

Kai shot up in bed, panting, beads of sweat on his brow. What was that!? He'd never had a dream like that in his life.

He tried calming himself. But he was rock hard and horny as hell.

He growled to himself before giving in, laying back down and reaching in to his shorts, taking hold of himself and pumping.

He replayed the images of his dream as best as he could, the sound of Rei's voice moaning his name.

His shuddering breath became quicker as did his hand, it didn't take long before his body tensed and he grunted through his intense orgasm, his seed spilling out over his stomach.

His body went limp against the bed and his breathing slowed.

 **(Adult stuff: end)**

"Oh shit..." he said out loud to himself hopelessly as everything finally became clear, "I like Rei."

There. He admitted it. Finally.

He peeled himself out of bed and took a shower. Still dumbstruck at his late realisation that he, _he_ , had been stupid enough to let himself fall for someone.

" _There's got to be a way to make it stop..."_ he thought to himself as he went for his run, " _this has to stop...he's my teammate, he's my friend...he's..."_

The images of his dream flashed back in his mind.

" _Noooo no no no no...I've got to find a way to stop this."_

He ran harder.

On the bright side, he tried to tell himself as he got ready for school, there was no Chinese class today. He had today at least to distance himself from him. Get his head straight. It wouldn't take long to forget about this, right? It was just a silly crush he somehow got. He could get over it quickly.

He wandered through the school halls trying to think of anything but him. Distract himself.

He got to his home room.

"Morning, Kai." came Reuben.

"morning..." he muttered. Reuben stoked that he got two in a row.

He sat himself down, still trying to distract himself, running through his schedule for the day.

" _OK...French, social studies, math, English...ancient history, music...stupid detention...ah shit I didn't pick a song...oh well, do that at lunch, then some training..."_

The door opened as Mr. Harris walked in. Kai looked up and his pupils shrank.

Rei was with him.

 _Why_ was Rei with him?

"Morning everyone!" Dan greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning Mr. Harris!" they all replied.

"Rei here is going to be joining your classes today."

Rei smiled his damned beautiful smile at everyone.

"Yeh, I hope you don't mind...I don't have class today, so I'm pretty free.. Mr. Harris asked if I wanted to join your classes today and it sounded fun!"

Of course, this was _Harris'_ doing. _GOD_ he hated him.

Rei looked around, "Where should I sit?" he asked.

Kai quickly glanced nervously over at the empty desk next to him.

" _Please not there, please not there, please not there..."_

"Why don't you take the empty desk next to Kai?" Dan answered.

" _Fuck!"_

Rei's face glowed as he almost skipped to the back and flashed Kai a happy smile as he eagerly took his seat. He seemed excited.

Kai cursed God and the universe in his mind. Had he not suffered enough in his life so far? Was he really that much of a bad person that he needed punishing like this?

He realised he just had to do what he did best: cold-shoulder until they went away.

That would work.

Mr. Harris took his leave and Mr. Dupuis, the French teacher walked in. He sauntered cheerfully over to Rei and gave him a very enthusiastic _Bonjour_.

Today they were reading extracts from _Les Miserables._ Rei was of course out of his element, but it was interesting to watch. He was a little surprised, this seemed very high level...was Kai pretty much fluent in French?

They went around the room, reading one by one.

Rei really hoped he'd make Kai do it.

"Monsieur 'iwatari!" the teacher called _._

" _Yes!"_ Rei celebrated in his head.

Kai stood up with the book, as the others had. Rei watched him.

" _Quoique ce détail ne touche en aucune manière au fond même de ce que nous avons à raconter, il n'est peut-être pas inutile, ne fût-ce que pour être exact en tout, d'indiquer ici..."_

Rei instantly a pink hue crossed his nose as he watched him in almost dreamy awe. He had no idea what he was saying but he sounded so...romantic. That language combined with _that_ voice...His heart fluttered.

He finished and took his seat.

"Bravo!" his teacher praised.

And so continued the morning's classes. Rei had no idea what was going on, but it didn't matter. He was just interested in what they did all day...or more what _he_ did all day. It was a rare insight in to the unknown daily life of Kai.

Rei beamed almost with pride every time got called on in class. He had no idea how smart he was...he enjoyed being there to see it.

The bell went for lunch.

Reuben and Scotty instantly came to get Rei to join them again as he had the past few days.

Rei of course accepted, but turned around to find Kai still in his seat.

"Hey Kai, you wanna come have lunch with us?" he asked.

Kai looked up at him.

"...No, sorry. I got stuff to do..." he said almost coldly.

Rei frowned. He noticed Kai hadn't acknowledged him once all morning, he'd figured it was because he was in class...but now what was up with this attitude?

Kai stood up and picked up his bag, ready to leave.

"Is something...up?" Rei asked, feeling something was off.

"No." Kai answered bluntly before walking out. Leaving him stood there. Scotty and Reuben watched.

"Everything OK there?" Scotty asked.

Rei hid his sadness and smiled, "Yeh, fine. You know what he's like...let's go."

Kai headed for the library. Hiding away in a corner somewhere sounded good. Who knew, maybe there'd be a book about how not to be a pathetic loser and stop fawning over your friend.

He sat himself in a little corner in by one of the stained glass windows. He didn't bother picking up a book, he just needed to think.

Back in the dining hall, Rei, Scotty and Reuben were eating lunch. Rei seemed down about Kai not coming and stayed pretty quiet. Reuben had to go right after he finished, had to meet a teacher, so left Rei and Scotty to it.

"Sooooo Rei..." Scotty began, taking the opportunity.

"Hm?"

"Forgive me if I'm crossing a line here but...is there something going on between you and Kai?"

Rei choked on his drink.

"What!?"

"It's just...I dunno...he seems different since you came...and I caught you looking like you were drooling over him during French...I just sense a spark there. Which is not something I ever thought I'd sense from Kai."

"I did not-! He doesn't-!" Rei got flustered.

"Whoa whoa, relax...I'm only asking." Scotty giggled, lifting his brow.

Rei took a breath.

"It's not like that. We're just friends..."

"All right, if you say so..."

"I do say so..." he replied firmly.

Scotty huffed and let it go.

"So...what have you got on this afternoon?"

"Nothing after lunch, but Mr. Harris invited me to his music class last period."

"Ah, with Kai." he said slyly.

Rei glared at him. He didn't even know he was in that class...again.

"...just make sure you keep your mouth closed when you stare at him..." Scotty teased.

Rei spent his free hour in the staffroom. Pretending to do work, but thinking about what Scotty said. How had someone he barely knew come up with that? Kai hadn't acted differently, if anything today he seemed to be avoiding him. Hardly signalled love.

And as for him...sure, he thought Kai was attractive. Because he was a good-looking guy! That was just fact. He was very striking.

But he was also moody and...rude...and standoffish and arrogant and a complete idiot when it came to anything emotional or social...but also really smart, and strong, and manly, and brave and kind when he wanted to be...when it mattered.

Ah, who was he kidding? He'd fallen hard for Kai a long time ago...he didn't even remember when it started exactly. But he really knew he was ga-ga over him when he battled against the invisible wind bit-beast...he remembered how heroic he looked as the wind blew his hair, his clothes got shredded up, he was hurt, his blade took a royal beating and still came out the victor against all the odds...and all for the sake of the team. Then he casually dropped his blade in Kenny's hand and walked off tall like it was nothing... He let out a dreamy sigh at the memory...his hero.

The bell went. Time to go see the guy he pined for do a music class...he had to remember to try not to stare.

He wandered the halls looking for the music room. He couldn't find it anywhere...the bell had already gone.

He wandered around more, getting frustrated. Finally, he saw the sign. He was already ten minutes late...hopefully Mr. Harris wouldn't be mad.

He gently opened the door, trying not to disturb them. Beautiful music met his ears. As he walked in, his eyes widened.

There he was...the guy of his dreams, a violin on his shoulder, playing a solo. He didn't know the name of the piece he was playing, but he'd heard it before.

He didn't know why seeing him with that violin made his heart pound.

"Ah! Rei! Get lost, did you?" came Harris' voice.

The violin screeched to a stop as Kai noticed him. The rest of the class turned to look at him.

"You...play the violin?" he blabbed out like an idiot.

Kai just nodded.

"Yeh! Found out yesterday he plays the piano, too! Man of many talents it seems!" Harris praised.

Kai glared at him.

Rei noticed the class staring at him.

"S-sorry! As you were..."

"Ah don't worry, Rei. Come take a seat!" he said as he patted the seat next to him. He turned to the class. "OK guys, once more from the top..."

Kai seemed put off by Rei being there. He kept his eyes on the sheet music and began to play again with the others.

Rei's eyes were transfixed on him. His fingers skilfully working the strings, the other hand wielding the bow, eyes fixed on the sheet music. The sounds he was creating were beautiful. Who knew he was capable of that? He played violin, piano, studied French and Chinese...what else could he do that he didn't know about? How was it possible for one person to be so _talented_?

Mr. Harris noticed him staring at him in awe and leaned over to him quietly with that sly smirk of his.

"Gotta love a musician, huh?" he whispered in a suggestive manner.

Rei instantly went red and snapped his eyes away from Kai to the teacher, who raised his brows at him and tilted his head, smiling slyly.

Was he suggesting...?

Great, first Scotty, now _Harris_!?...Was he that obvious!?

The bell went and the day was over. The students put their instruments away and began to file out.

"Good job everybody! See you next time! Kai..." he gestured for him to stay. They had detention after all.

Rei didn't get up. Soon everyone else had left.

"You wanna stay, Rei?" Harris asked.

Kai spun around and gave him a look that was both terrified and murderous.

"I...uh...I'd better not." he said as he noticed the disdain in his friend.

"Nah, it's fine! Kick back, relax..."

Kai's glared haaaaard. Harris didn't seem phased.

"Actually Rei, help me prove a point...stand up for me."

He did as he was told. Kai folded his arms and continued to glare daggers wondering what he was up to.

"Rei, sing something for me."

"Um...OK...what do you want me to sing?"

"First thing that comes to your head."

Rei shrugged.

"Mary haaad a litttttle laaaamb...?" he sang.

" _Thank_ you! See Kai, it's that easy. He didn't even hesitate."

Kai did not seem to appreciate that.

"Well then...get Rei to sing in your stupid choir..." he spat angrily before heading to the door.

"Hey! Come back here! You're mine for the next hour. Don't be so sensitive..."

Kai reluctantly obeyed.

"Now come on. Show us what you got."

Kai glanced at Rei and back to Harris, shaking his head.

"...I don't think so..."

Harris sighed.

"He's your friend! He just sang too! If you can't sing in front of him, how are you going to sing in front of a room full of people?"

The music room door opened. The school receptionist came in.

"Mr. Harris, I'm sorry to interrupt, but you have a phone call. They said it was urgent."

Dan sighed. "All right, I'll be right there...you'd better still be here when I get back, Kai." he warned as he left, knowing his student was flighty.

The two were left in awkward silence.

"...I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, Kai."

"You didn't." Kai answered coldly again.

There was another awkward silence.

"...You play the violin so well...I had no idea you played..." he said softly.

"Since junior high. Had to take an instrument." he answered bluntly.

"What made you pick the violin?" Rei asked curiously. It didn't seem very Kai-like. He seemed maybe more like a...drums...kind of guy.

Kai stiffened and seemed unwilling to say. But his reaction told him there was a reason.

"Ah come on...I won't tell anyone..." Rei smiled.

"...Sherlock Holmes..." Kai revealed with a sigh.

"What?" Rei wasn't expecting that.

Kai sighed.

"He's one of my favorite fictional characters...I love the books and the TV shows and stuff... he played the violin to help him think. So I thought, why not?" he cursed himself, so much for his plan of giving him the silent treatment. He just couldn't. But that was more information than he was used to dishing out. Is this what liking someone did to you? Made you a babbling idiot?

Rei was thrilled. The iciness he felt before seemed to be gone. And he managed to get this little bit of personal information out of him. He bet no one else on the planet knew that about him.

He knew a little about Sherlock Holmes. Of course he did, he's one of the most famous characters there is. He smirked.

"I can see why he'd appeal to you..." Rei said with a cheeky smirk.

Kai cocked an eyebrow, curious as to why.

"Well...I mean isn't he sort of an intelligent, arrogant, know-it-all who is cold and distant?"

Kai also smirked. He saw his point.

"Yeh, except with Watson, though."

Rei giggled.

"Does that make me kind of your Dr. Watson?" he blurted out. He cringed on the inside as soon as he said it.

" _What are you saying, you moron?!"_

Kai's breath hitched in his throat.

"...I guess...you kinda are..." he smirked.

Rei smiled, but wanted to change the conversation quickly.

"So...you play the piano, too?"

"Got made to as a kid...haven't in a long time..."

He stood up and went to the piano.

"Can you show me?" he asked.

"I dunno Rei...I haven't played in forever. I don't think I remember how."

"Just try?" he pleaded.

Kai sighed. He couldn't say no to him. He went and sat down at the piano, to his surprise, Rei sat next to him.

"...what do you want me to play?" he asked.

"Oh, you do requests?" Rei laughed.

"Heh, not really, I just don't know what to play."

"...oh...me either...uh..." his mind went blank of any song he'd ever heard in his life.

"Can you just...you know...make something up?"

"Uhh...give me a topic. Some _inspiration_..." Kai smirked.

"Uh...Mr. Harris, what would be his theme song?"

Kai smirked and played a dark, evil sounding _dun dun duuuuuuuuuuun_.

Rei laughed and hit his arm playfully.

"Aw, come on. He's a nice guy."

"He's not your teacher..." Kai whined.

"OK...how about...Max?"

Kai smirked "Well...Max is all rainbows and unicorns so I think he'd sound a little like...this." His fingers took to the keys and played a happy, trilling melody that sounded like it came from a Disney movie.

"Ha! That does sound like him!" Rei laughed, impressed with his playing.

Mr. Harris finished his call quickly and came back only a few minutes later. But he came quietly through the back entrance they used to get the bigger instruments in and out. It lead to the small stage they had in the music room for rehearsals. He felt like spying, curious to know what they were doing and didn't want to disturb them. He hid behind the stage curtain and peeped through, smiling broadly as he saw them sat together at the piano.

"How about Tyson?"

Kai seemed to think about it.

"Hm...difficult...Tyson's a hasty little loud mouth, so how about this..."

He played a rapid but loud, flighty tune, it almost sounded a little clumsy. Rei laughed.

"That works! I can hear Tyson in that!"

Kai smirked.

"OK, how about you?" Rei asked.

"Me?"

"Yeh."

Kai sat with his hands in his lap. Rei waited. And waited.

"...can't think of anything?"

"No, this _is_ the sound of me. Silence."

Rei laughed.

Harris covered his mouth to not let his laugh out. That was funny for Kai.

"What would you play for me?" Rei asked curiously.

Kai tensed and went pink.

"You?"

"Yeh. If I were a piano tune, what would I sound like?"

Harris grinned like an idiot behind the curtain and waited impatiently.

Kai hesitated for a moment before taking his hands to the keys again. He began to play, his hands seeming to have a life of their own.

The melody his fingers were playing for Rei was soft but uplifting. Gentle but strong. It was slower. It sounded unintentionally tender. It was beautiful. He kept playing and Rei kept listening, his stomach fluttering.

Kai felt nervous and uncontrollably turned his flushed face to see Rei's reaction. Rei was blushing too.

He quickly stopped playing suddenly as their eyes met.

"Uh...something like that, I guess..." he said bashfully.

"You think I sound like that?" Rei asked, his voice quivered. It was the most romantic moment of his life so far. And he wasn't even meant to be. He'd just fallen harder.

Kai stiffened and felt he should make an attempt to explain it. Afraid he'd given himself away.

"Yeh..uh..." he cleared his throat, "you know, you're...laid back and...nice..."

" _Good job, asshole..."_ he scolded himself as he cringed internally.

"Thank you..." Rei said softly.

Meanwhile, behind the curtain, Harris was silently doing an excited little dance on the spot, gushing over the sweet, teenage moment. He was a sucker for this kind of stuff.

" _Oh yeh! I am good! Love, BOW TO YOUR SENSEI!"_ he yelled in his head, feeling responsible for giving the two the alone time.

"Well..." Rei started, still blushing and not sure what to do with himself, "I'd better go. Mr. Harris will be back soon and I don't want to get in the way..."

Kai nodded, it would be better if he did.

"Night, _Sherlock_..." Rei said as he walked to the door.

Kai's blush grew, his face cracked an involuntary smile.

"Night... _Watson_."

And with that, Rei left. As soon as the door closed, Kai sighed and put his head in his hands, mortified.

Mr. Harris debated if he should come out now. But decided to wait a little longer. Give him a minute.And what was that Sherlock thing about? Oh my god, did they have a little private joke?!

Kai lifted his head from his hands and sat with a sad, defeated, embarrassed look. Dan felt bad for the poor kid. He remembered those days. They weren't fun. Plus no matter how old you are, being in love sucks.

To his surprise, he saw his student take a deep breath and straighten himself up. He started playing the piano again. It was a sad, familiar sounding melody. Harris knew he knew it.

Then it clicked.

He wasn't about to...was he?

" _Well I've heard there was a secret chord  
That David played and it pleased the Lord  
But you don't really care for music, do you?"_

He was singing!Not only that, he was _emoting!_

" _YES! That's my boy! SING the crappy heartache!"_ Harris screamed inside his head with pride.

He kept listening. He sang quietly, apparently even by himself he was embarrassed to do it. But he had a good voice. It was deep, smooth, he could hold a tune. Could use a tiny bit of coaching from the sound of it, but for someone who said they couldn't sing...he for sure could. He could definitely work with this. Thank god, he was worried he was going to be awful. Then he'd be in trouble.

 _"Well it goes like this:  
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift  
The baffled king composing Hallelujah_

 _Hallelujah  
Hallelujah  
Hallelujah  
Hallelujah"_

Harris burst out from behind the curtain, clapping hard. Kai jumped out his skin and the piano stopped.

"How long have you been there!?" Kai demanded, embarrassed.

"Ah, don't worry about it!" he waved off, "But Kai, you _sang_!"

"What are you doing lurking behind the curtains like that!? Seriously, how long have you been there?!" Kai asked desperately, scared he'd seen him make an ass of himself in front of Rei.

"Why? Were you doing something you shouldn't?" he asked mischievously.

Kai went redder.

"No! I was just...practising."

Dan really wanted to tell him he'd seen it...but that would be cruel. So he left it alone.

"Well, let's get to it...I like your song choice! A man after my own heart..." he said as he walked over and sat next to him at the piano.

"Now let's try it again, but what you should try and do is..."

Dan spent the next half hour coaching him on singing that song. He tried not to show it, but he was incredibly surprised that Kai actually listened and tried. Could it be he was enjoying it? Either way, he was proud of him.

"I think that's enough for today. You did good. You were wrong, see. You can sing."

"Thanks..." Kai answered quietly, embarrassed yet again.

"You know...that phone call I got was about the performance coming up."

"The school concert I have to do?" Kai groaned.

"Well..." Dan said as he squirmed slightly, bracing himself.

"...What?" Kai asked, knowing something was up.

"I wasn't _entirely_ truthful...it's sort of not a concert exactly...and it's not at _this_ school..."

"What are you talking about?" Kai asked, scared of the answer.

"It's the annual chorus competiton...we compete against other schools."

"WHAT?!" Kai yelled.

"Sorry I didn't tell you...I...knew you wouldn't do it if I told you."

"You're right! I'm _not_ doing it!" he yelled as he got up.

"Kai! Wait!"

"How could you do this?! This is serious, I can't sing in a competition! Are you nuts?!" he spat out, panicked.

"You can and you will. You can sing! I knew you could! And I have faith that you'll perform well with the rest of the group."

Oh shit, the group.

"Is making me sing that important to you that you'll risk the whole group? Having me there jeopardizes the whole group's chances! That's hardly fair to them!" he argued.

"Yes. It is important. If we don't win then ah, shucks, we don't win...there's always a chance we won't. But you...if you don't learn to use your voice and work with people, and continue on this lonely, reclusive, defensive, guarded, scared..."

"Scared?!" Kai bit back, offended, not letting him finish. No one accused him of being scared.

"Yeh, _scared_! People scare you. It's obvious. You reject them before they can reject you. I see you, Kai! You think you're fooling everyone, but you're not!"

Kai scoffed, "Oh, so you're an amateur psychologist now, too? What a load of crap!"

Dan softened. "You know deep down I'm right. You don't have to admit it to me. Just admit it to yourself..."

Kai shook his head at him before grabbing his bag and storming out.

Dan sighed, tired. Kai exhausted him. But he wasn't about to throw in the towel.

He sat back down at the piano.

He remembered he never finished what he was telling him about the phone call. It was to confirm Kai's details. He'd officially added his name in as a member of the school chorus for the competition...He was in it now whether he liked it or not. Ah well, he'd tell him tomorrow. He'll probably be calmer once he'd slept on it...

Right?

Yeh, probably not. Oh well.

"Now, if I were a piano tune, what would I sound like?" he asked himself out loud, having missed Kai's earlier rendition "….Something awesome, obviously."

He played a jazzy tune on the piano.

"Yehhhh...something like _that_!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So I know this chapter was incredibly lovey-dovey. I wanted to go in to their insecurity, infatuation, a little flirting etc. You know, teenage love feels.

Also, if you don't know the song Kai sang, it was Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright (originally Leonard Cohen) I don't own it, of course. If you don't know it, it's a classic, go listen to it!

I hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter probably won't be so fluffy!

As always, any comments would really be appreciated!


	5. Trust

Thank you to those who left comments! I really appreciate it!

On to the next chapter!

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 5

Trust

Kai stomped in to his home room the next morning, shooting a filthy glare at Mr. Harris before deciding not to look at him again for as long as he could manage.

He walked towards his desk.

"Morning, Kai." came Reuben, as usual.

"..."

He kept walking. Not today.

Dan looked up when he didn't hear him reply and automatically felt the energy drain from him. He saw him sat at his desk with a look that told him he was going to be impossible today.

Poor Reuben looked kind of hurt, like he was trying to figure out what he'd done wrong.

Dan sighed. Kai was mad at him, therefore he was probably going to take it out on everyone else, too.

Where was Rei when he needed him? He was like the Kai-kryptonite...

The bell went.

"OK guys..." Dan started. "Don't forget, sixth period today is a home room period and it is mandatory...it's not an excuse to slip off early..." he directed at Kai. They had home room classes a few times a month...which he had a bad habit of bailing.

Kai didn't even look up. He knew that was aimed at him. Too bad. What was he gonna do if he didn't go?

"So, have a good day and I'll see you all sixth..."

He picked up his stack of papers and left.

Mr. Simmons, the math teacher, walked in and so began another day at St. Tristan's.

The sound of chalk scratching at the board and the teacher's droning voice became white noise. He rested his head on his hand and his eyes stared aimlessly out the window.

He hadn't slept well last night, he was too busy stewing after their little conversation yesterday.

He couldn't believe his jerk of a teacher wanted to enter him in to a _singing_ competition...he already wasn't liked much by anyone here. How did that moron think this was going to help his social situation? The hostile looks the chorus group gave him when he walked in the other day was still fresh in his mind. He wasn't going to be welcome there...

Not that he wanted to be, anyway.

...And then to go and try and analyse him like he was some kind of shrink..seriously, who did that guy think he was!? He said he was _scared_ of people. Pfft, him? Scared of them?

He remembered how Emily accused him of being scared of his teammates once. Why did people assume that if you didn't want to be all buddy-buddy with people, it was because you're afraid of them...? Didn't make any sense...

But anyway, Harris needed a girlfriend or something...his need to try and 'fix' him was starting to reach new levels of pathetic. If only he'd pick someone else to fix...Reuben seemed desperate for human interaction...he'd probably love the attention...make him sing in front of people...call it 'character building'. Maybe he'd suggest it and tell him to go shove his stupid choir up his-

"Kai?"

He looked back to the front, snapped out his mental rant. His teacher at the board looking directly at him, annoyed.

"Could you kindly tell us the value of x?"

Shit...he had no idea what he'd been babbling on about.

He looked at the numbers on the board. He was pretty good at math...but he just couldn't be bothered today.

"No." he replied bluntly.

"Well then, I suggest you get your head out of the clouds and pay attention...take a look at the equation..." his teacher commanded.

He scowled. He honestly did not care.

"I don't know."

"You didn't even try." Mr. Simmons sighed.

"Fine...32." he pulled a number out the air, huffing.

There were quite giggles amongst his classmates.

His teacher frowned. He knew he was more than capable of doing it, he was in the top percentage of the class score wise... He just appeared to be in one of his stupid, annoying funks. It rubbed him the wrong way. And he wasn't in the mood for it today, either.

"I think you ought to drop the mood..."

Kai just huffed irritably and rolled his eyes. Mr. Simmons saw it. It didn't go down well.

"Hey! Enough of the attitude! Now take a look at it again and answer the question." he said as he raised his voice.

Kai huffed again, getting mad as well.

"I _said_ I don't know. Just move on already and quit wasting our time!" Kai snapped back.

Bad move.

He got sent to the teacher's room. Again.

He didn't bother knocking like he was supposed to. He threw open the door and stormed in, not looking at anyone and sat himself at the table just aside from all the teacher's desks, where he always got sat when he was sent in. He took a seat and folded his arms again. Steaming. This was all he needed...

Harris watched him storm in and sighed. He knew it was going to be this kind of day.

"What did you do this time?" he asked tiredly, not even looking over at him.

The door opened again before Kai had a chance to answer and Mr. Simmons came in not looking pleased. He stopped in front of Mr. Harris.

"Will you _please_ do something about him? This is getting ridiculous..." he spat out in a mix of anger and exhaustion. This wasn't the first time Kai had been rude to him. He was tired of it.

Rei was also sat at his desk trying to prepare his class. He was so engrossed in it, he hadn't noticed it was Kai that had come in. He looked up and huffed when he saw him.

" _Again?"_ he thought to himself.

Dan sighed again, "I'll take care of it..."

The math teacher stormed back to his class, leaving the grumpy little brat in Harris' hands.

He dragged himself to the table where Kai was sat and slumped himself in a chair.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and assume you're here for attitude..."

Kai let out a 'hn'.

"I don't know how many times we have to go over this...you can't talk to your teachers the way you do..."

"You weren't even there...not my fault he's too sensitive..." Kai grumbled out.

"I didn't need to be there...I can just picture it...but I'll be fair, what happened?"

"I didn't know the answer to a question and he got mad. That's it."

"Doesn't sound like him..." Dan lifted a disbelieving eyebrow.

Kai tensed.

"You calling me a liar?" he snapped.

"Now who's too sensitive?" Dan smirked.

Kai growled. He hated that fucking patronising smirk of his. He wanted to yell at him, but what would be the point? He was in trouble as it was. Instead he went with trusty silence.

Dan waited for a response and quickly figured out he was giving him the silent treatment.

"Well...I can see you're not going to be reasoned with. Could tell as soon as you walked in this morning you were in one of your moods...just sit here and have a time out. Cool off..." he said lazily. He'd dealt with him enough to know he was impossible when he was like this...

Kai frowned. His temper starting to rise.

" _One of my moods?! Time out?! What am I, five!?"_

He snapped.

He stood up and exploded.

"Just who the fuck do you think you're talking to!? It's your fault I'm pissed off anyway! If you weren't such a..."

The teachers in the room looked up and listened with dropped jaws as the angry, enraged teen continued on a barrage of cussing and insults at his teacher. Calling him everything under the sun and blaming him for...whatever he was blaming him for.

Rei couldn't believe his ears either.

He finally stopped cussing.

Dan raised an eyebrow. Seemingly unphased at the fire.

"You done?"

Kai let out an annoyed laugh.

"You know what? I am done. I'm done with this godforsaken place. Done with every loser in it. And most importantly, done with _you_! Shove your stupid chorus up your ass. Find someone else to fixate on and leave me the _hell_ alone!" he spat viciously before storming out and slamming the door behind him.

Dan turned back to the stunned teachers with a sarcastic smile.

"...the joy of being a teacher...am I right?"

"...are you going to let him get away with talking to you like that?" one of the older teachers asked gruffly, clearly not approving of Mr. Harris' cool composure.

"Oh, no. He'll pay for that...but right now it's best to just let him go calm down under a rock or...in Mordor...or...wherever he concentrates his rage...have to hand it to him though, for someone so quiet, he's incredibly creative with his words isn't he? I've never been called a 'pathetic, dimwitted, moronic oxygen thief' before..."

A few teachers chuckled.

"I do not envy you for having to deal with Sunshine...surprised you haven't gone on stress leave yet..." one of them said.

Rei snorted. _"Sunshine?"_

Dan heard him laugh and cleared his throat, nodding towards Rei.

The teacher winced and mouthed a 'sorry'. The last thing poor Dan needed was Kai finding out he had a nickname.

"Mr. Harris...would you like me to try and talk to him?" Rei offered, mortified at his friend's outburst.

"Ah, it's all right, Rei. But thank you. Just be prepared to deal with that in your class today...don't take any crap from him just because he's your friend."

Rei shuddered. He didn't know if he could stay as cool as Dan was if Kai was going to be like that. What was up with him, anyway?

Kai headed back to his room. To hell with today. He didn't want to be near anyone.

He was almost at the door to the dorms.

"Mr. Hiwatari? Where do you think you're going? You should be in class..." came a deep voice.

He growled again and turned around.

The Principle. He must have spotted him when he passed his office and followed him out.

"Headache, sir."

"Oh dear...do you have your slip from the school nurse?"

" _Shit."_

"...just as I thought. Come with me, boy..." he said sternly as he walked back in to the main building, expecting him to follow.

He reluctantly followed. Today couldn't get any worse...

His stomach dropped as the principle kept walking past his office...he was expecting to be lectured in there and then sent back.

Ah, damnit, he was taking him back to the teacher's room...

As they got closer, the principle took hold of his shoulder and lead him. When they got there, he pushed the door open and pulled him in.

"Harris!" he grunted.

Dan looked up and held back a laugh...he hadn't gotten far, huh?

"Do something about him, please..." he muttered, unknowingly echoing the math teacher earlier before walking out.

There was silence.

"...long time, no see..." he said, unable to resist.

Kai glared.

The bell went. First period was over...only first period...it was going to be a long day.

"Go back to class, Kai...we'll talk later. And try and be nice... I don't want to see you in here again today..."

Kai held back his second outburst, it wasn't worth it.

He took himself back to class.

The next three periods went confrontation-free. Because he just stayed quiet.

At long last, the lunch bell went. An hour by himself away from these people. He skulked off to his sanctuary at the library.

Rei began to feel nervous during lunch. Today would be the first real class with him...typical it would fall on a day he was on the warpath...

He didn't get it...yesterday he was so different. Kind of. He was moody-silent instead of moody-angry. But..when it was just them together and talking in the music room, he was actually fun and relaxed. What happened after he left to make him this unbearable today?

He finished eating and looked at the clock. He had 15 minutes...may as well go set up.

As he made his way to his classroom, he wondered if he was even going to show...he hadn't been to one of his classes yet...

Two minutes to the bell...the other five guys were ready and waiting.

1 minute to go.

Then the bell rang.

He sighed. He wasn't going to show again...

"All right...let's start...let's go over last class-"

The door opened.

"Sorry I'm late..." came a mumble.

Rei fought back his smile as he watched him walk in and sit himself down, getting his books out.

"...No problem...as I was saying, let's review what we did last time. Open your books to page 28..."

He was relieved that he seemed a lot calmer than earlier.

Rei did his class he'd spent hours planning out to the last detail, trying to think of easy to understand ways to explain his complicated native tongue.

Kai kept his eyes down at his book and did as he was asked to, and that was fine by Rei.

Luckily he hadn't planned any speaking...today was just grammar. Nothing to set him off.

The bell went. His first class with Kai was a success and went without a hitch.

"OK, nice job today guys! Just practice what we did today on pages...13 and 14 in the workbook."

They got up and filed out.

Rei wondered if Kai would say anything to him...it had been his first class with him after all...maybe he'd say something nice about it...

Kai left without a word and Rei watched him go, a little disappointed.

Harris sat at his desk with a feeling of dread in his stomach.

Next was home room class...it was only a few times a month and they were always assigned a certain topic to discuss or do something with.

Apparently the universe was laughing at him.

The topic the principle had assigned for today was:

" _Improving classroom relationships using team building exercises."_

Couldn't have picked a better time...

Kai and Giles had not long had their fight and Kai was being a monster today...

He almost hoped he would skip class today...

And what the hell was he supposed to do for 'team building exercises'!?

He'd been thinking about it all morning...he really wished they'd give more notice about this stuff...the only thing he could think of would not go down well with Sunshine...or Giles...

But too bad...couldn't change everything just to please them.

He nervously walked in to his class and felt his stomach drop.

The little fire-ball actually showed up...

Why today of all days!?

This would be...interesting.

The bell went.

"OK guys...let's get right to it...today's topic is classroom relationships..." he said as he eyed Giles and Kai.

Kai felt anger again in the pit of his stomach. That felt like a dig at him. This week was really laying in to him...today especially...

"Everybody up. Push your desks to the sides and make a circle."

They did as they were told. The twelve boys stood in a circle.

Dan went in the middle.

"You can't have much of a relationship with anyone if you don't have trust...which brings me to today's exercise. You guys know what a "trust fall" is?"

Scotty raised his hand, Dan nodded it him.

"...you mean where you fall back and let someone catch you?"

"Exactly!"

Kai cringed and felt his stomach plummet. This wasn't happening...

"You're all going to do it...but who wants to volunteer first?"

There was stillness and silence.

Dan looked around and laughed.

"All right...guess I'm up first."

He made eye contact with Reuben and smirked.

"Hey Reub. TRUST!" he yelled dramatically as he quickly moved towards him, turned, spread his arms out and fell back.

Reuben let out a little shriek and seemed to panic, but held his arms out to catch him, staggering back as the heavier man fell in to him.

The rest of the class burst out laughing...he'd technically caught him...but their teacher was still near enough on the floor.

Dan also laughed as he scrambled back to his feet, with a little assistance from Reuben lifting him up.

"Good job!" he clapped. "All right, Reub, you're up! Pick someone!" he said as he gently pushed him in to the middle.

Kai unconsciously moved backwards.

Reuben made eye contact with Scotty, he took a step forward, but was stopped.

"Hold on! Not Scotty! There's no point if you just pick your bestie..." Mr. Harris instructed.

Reuben nodded and looked around.

He picked Adam, another smaller, quieter kid he got on with. He turned and held his arms out.

"...don't drop me, OK?" he said as he giggled nervously.

"Don't worry, I got ya..." Adam laughed back, bracing himself.

Reuben took a breath, psyching himself up before making himself fall back, letting out another small shriek as he did.

Adam caught him. The two giggled like two little kids.

The rest of them clapped and Reuben swapped places with Adam.

Kai kept slightly edging away, ever so slowly getting a little further away from them.

Rei walked down the hall, he had nothing left to do now his class was done.

He'd heard Dan complaining about having home room, so he thought he'd have a peep...he also was curious to see if Kai had shown up. He was not a fan of Mr. Harris today...

He made it to the classroom and looked through the little window in the door and let out a snort. They looked like they were doing the falling thing where you saw if you trusted someone.

Surprise, surprise...Kai was hanging back, not looking in to it.

He had to stay and watch this...maybe he'd have to do it...he didn't wanna miss that.

One by one the students went in the middle and hesitantly made themselves fall. Each time they were successfully caught...some not as graceful as others, but they always caught them. Even the douchebag kid, Giles.

The other boys were laughing, giggling and enjoying the stupid exercise...

One wasn't laughing. Kai was stood in his usual stance, arms folded and expressionless face...but his eyes gave away his discomfort. Not to mention he was noticeably shifting back.

Mr. Harris noticed there was only one that hadn't caught anyone yet...but they'd all had a try...did someone go twice and he hadn't noticed?

"Hey, no one fell on Kai..." Dan thought out loud.

Oh that's right...he went first...that made the number an odd 13.

Kai was praying he was going to get out of it.

"It's fine...I get the message..." Kai said bluntly.

"Oh, no...no one gets out of it..." Dan began.

Rei cracked a mischievous grin from the other side of the door as he watched Kai trying to wiggle out of it.

" _You're not getting out of this one so easily, Sourpuss..."_ he thought to himself as his grin grew bigger.

They all jolted their heads as they heard the door fly open.

"Kai! Think fast!" came a yell as Rei flew towards him, rapidly turning, flinging his arms out and falling back.

Kai barely had time to process what was going on, his body braced and his arms went out instinctively to catch him, the force at which Rei had come at him knocking him back a bit.

The rest of the class burst out laughing at both Kai's surprised expression and at the sudden and unexpected...literal drop in.

Dan laughed too and felt relieved, trust Rei to save the day again. He made a mental note to buy him a cape or...something.

Rei was giggling as he lay limply in his friend's grip. Kai lifted him back up. A dumbfounded look still on his face. Where the hell had he come from?!

Once Rei was stood up again, he gently took Kai by the arms and guided him in to the middle of the circle.

"You're up..." he smiled encouragingly.

Kai stared at him, his eye twitched slightly. Why would he do this to him?

He was suddenly surrounded by a group of people he _didn't_ trust. Their eyes all on him, waiting. Probably waiting to watch him fall on his ass. He felt his heart begin to beat harder. He suddenly felt extremely claustrophobic.

He actually felt...panicked for some reason.

Rei realised as he looked at him, maybe he'd made a mistake. He didn't look comfortable at all. He looked really nervous.

"C'mon, Kai. Everyone else did it...no one will drop you." Mr. Harris encouraged, feeling the hesitance.

Kai knew the worst that would happen would be a bumped butt if he fell...but he still wasn't willing to do it. He turned to Dan. He didn't want to say out loud that he didn't want to do it in front of everyone. But his face did the talking.

Dan felt a little bad for the kid...he looked like he was in hell. He knew he wouldn't like this exercise at all...but this was a good thing for him...he had to just do it. This was exactly the kind of thing he was talking about.

"OK, fall on Reuben...if he can catch me, he can definitely catch you." he instructed, figuring he'd at least take the pressure off picking someone.

Kai just felt even more nervous...Reuben was pretty small...and since he never replied to him when he spoke to him, he had every reason not to catch him. Why would he? Why would any of them?

Reuben smiled broadly.

"Yeh, come on. I promise I won't drop you."

The others joined in, trying to encourage him to do it.

"You can do it, Kai."

"Yeh, he'll catch you!"

"It's surprisingly fun, just try it!"

Kai's heart was beating inexplicably hard. His stomach nauseous. He felt himself having to focus to breath normally. Very aware that everyone's eyes were on him. He had no choice. He was gonna have to do it.

Oh God, he didn't want to.

He finally forced himself stand in front of Reuben and turn around, slowly putting his arms out. They felt heavier than normal.

He unwillingly scrunched his eyes shut.

He tried to make himself fall back, but his body just wouldn't let him.

He tried again, but he couldn't.

The anxiety got to him and his arms fell back down and his eyes snapped opened.

"I can't!" he breathed out. His eyes down on the floor as he shoved past Rei out of the circle and out of the room. Leaving the others watching him go, worried. They hadn't expected him to react like that.

"Kai? Kai, wait!" Dan called out before going after him.

He jogged to catch up to him.

"Kai, hold on!" he said as he caught up, grabbing him by the arm and making him stand still.

"Leave me alone..."

"What's the matter? Why don't you want to do it?"

Kai ripped his arm away from him.

"It's stupid...it doesn't mean anything!"

"Then why don't you just do it?" he challenged.

"Because I just don't want to!" he yelled back.

Dan's face softened.

"You know what I said yesterday about you being scared of people...?"

"Oh, don't start that crap again! Just because I don't want to fall back on a kid a foot shorter than me doesn't mean I'm scared!"

"Ah. Height is the issue, huh? Then fall back on me...I'm taller than you." he said, holding his arms out. Determined not to back down.

"No..."

Dan smiled.

"You do this, I'll cancel the extra three days detention I was gonna give you for calling me all those...colorful names earlier..."

"I'd rather do that..." Kai replied stubbornly.

Dan sighed.

"Kai...come on...just try. I _promise_ to catch you."

Kai stared at him and shifted his feet.

Dan kept his gaze and held his arms out again.

Kai continued to stare at him. He wanted to yell at him to get lost and keep walking. But that would be letting him win. As much as he didn't want to, he'd just have to suck it up...his pride wouldn't let this guy think he was scared.

"Fine...if it'll shut you up..."

He took a deep breath and turned. Once again he scrunched his eyes shut, turned, held his arms out and forced himself to fall.

His underarms made impact with Dan's arms as he felt his weight being caught.

He panicked and a slight groan escaped his mouth as he brought his hands in, grabbing tightly on to Dan's arms, letting out a few shuddered breaths.

This was ridiculous. _Why_ was this so difficult?! Why was his body reacting like this to something so simple?

His teacher felt the tight grip on his arms and the panic, so kept his arms firm to let him calm down a second.

"You did it..." his voice finally came, making the boy open his eyes, looking up and seeing him smiling down at him.

He quickly made himself stand up and straightened his jacket.

"...happy now?" he said quietly.

"Very, actually...I'm proud of you..."

Kai looked away, embarrassed.

"Come on, let's go back..." Dan said gently.

He lead him back to the classroom.

As soon as they re-entered the room, Reuben stormed up to him, looking angry...which was unusual for him.

"You know what, Kai...I've only ever tried to be nice to you and you've always shot me down. I don't know what I ever did to offend you, but I've had enough..."

He held his arms out.

"Just...fall on me for god's sake!" he almost yelled.

There was a hush. Reuben was never this forceful. And none of them would yell at Kai like that.

Kai blinked a few times, surprised by the unexpected outburst from someone so mousy.

He didn't have a problem with Reuben per se...he just...wanted to be left alone.

Reuben's eyes shone with determination. If the constant daily attempts to talk to him were anything to go by, he wasn't going to let up...

Dan subtly touched his back and gently nudged him.

There was that stupid anxious feeling again. Heart starting to pound faster. He'd already made himself do it once, why did he have to do it again?

This time there was an audience, too...he couldn't exactly run out again...

Reuben wasn't budging.

Once again he became very aware of all the eyes on him, that feeling that the walls were closing in on him.

But he had no choice.

He slowly turned around. Trying as hard as he could to hide the signals his body was trying to give out that he was feeling anxious and uneasy.

He held out his arms, heart pounding. Eyes shut tightly and eyebrows furrowed. He drew in a big, deep breath and forced himself to fall back. Both of them letting out an 'oof' as they made contact.

There was a pause before the class burst in to applause.

Kai steadied his breath and opened his eyes again to meet Reuben's beaming down at him.

"Heh, see. Told you I wouldn't drop you!" he said, back to his bright self.

Once again, Kai quickly yanked himself up out of his hold and straightened his jacket again.

There. He'd done it. He huffed mentally before realising...

He'd done it...

He glanced around and his classmates as well as Harris and Rei were all smiling at him.

He wished they'd stop...he wasn't a fan of this attention.

Luckily, the bell went.

"OK boys, nicely done! Moral of the story is be good to each other, all right?" Dan said, incredibly lazily wrapping up.

The boys moved their desks back to their original places and began to leave the room.

Kai was packing his bag up when a hand landed on his shoulder, he assumed it was Rei.

When he looked up though, it wasn't him.

It was Scotty.

"Ready to go?"

He frowned.

"To what?"

"...Mr. Harris said you were coming to chorus practice again today."

Apparently today wasn't done kicking his ass.

Mr. Harris appeared on the scene.

"Yep! He's coming all right. I need to talk to all of you...let's get going, we're a little late."

Kai glanced over at Rei, who was sat on the edge of an empty desk, still smiling at him.

"Guess I'll meet you for training later?" the Chinese said.

"Yeh..." Kai sighed. This day had been long and was nowhere near done yet.

He followed Dan and Scotty out and down the hall to the music room.

The rest of the group were already there waiting. As they walked in, their eyes fell on Kai again.

There was that stupid anxious feeling again. He didn't want to deal with them right now.

"Boys! Gather round! I have an announcement to make!"

They obeyed and gathered around.

"As you know, the annual chorus competition is coming up in just over a month, you guys have been working hard for it for a while now..."

Kai felt his stomach drop. He felt he was going to try and make him agree to it here and now...and get the others to be OK with it...wasn't sure how he was going to manage that...

"You boys really know how to work together and support each other..."

Where was he going with this..?

"Which is why I have no doubt that you'll be just as supportive with our official new member." he said as he grabbed Kai's shoulder.

Kai choked on his breath.

"What!? I didn't sign up for anything yet!"

There were remarks of protest from the group, too.

Dan raised his hand to silence them.

"I know you didn't sign anything Kai, but I did. You knew the deal..." he said, referring to his agreement with Mr. Dickinson, "We don't have time to hang around, so I went ahead and entered your name in. You're one of us now. It's settled."

He couldn't even react. The group went in to uproar.

"Mr. Harris sir, you can't be serious!"

"We can't start over again! There's no time!"

"Can he even sing?!"

"You're expecting us to risk everything we've worked for for... _him_!?"

"Everyone just shut up!" came a yell from the group.

They immediately shut their mouths as Scotty moved next to Kai.

"Let's all just calm down...I don't even see what the big deal is..." he started.

"What do you mean you don't see what the big deal is!?" another boy yelled.

"If Mr. Harris thinks he can do it then I think we should trust him."

There was no reaction to that.

"And we've still got over a month, we practice basically every day. It's just teaching him one song...it's really not that big a problem!"

"That's if he even bothers to show up..." huffed another.

Scotty rolled his eyes.

"He's in a world class Beyblading team...he knows more than any of us about dedication and commitment..." he retaliated.

"This isn't blading! It's singing!" another argued back.

"And Mr. Harris says he can sing! Stop putting him down before you've even heard what he can do!" Scotty yelled back.

Kai just watched him, his eyebrows furrowed. Why was he standing up for him?

Dan caught his perplexed expression and could clearly see what was going through his mind, he let out another smirk.

It disappeared pretty quickly.

"So...let's see what he can do." a boy near enough demanded.

The color drained out Kai's face.

There was a few seconds of silence.

"That seems fair..." Mr. Harris replied.

Kai snapped his head to him.

"What!?"

"Well...yeh. You gotta sing eventually, right?"

"I didn't think this was a solo thing!" Kai snapped back.

"It's not. This is just to show them what your voice sounds like." Dan answered.

"What am I singing exactly!?" Kai asked, getting flustered.

"Well...why don't you try singing the song we're thinking of performing at the competition?" he suggested.

"...and what would that be?"

Dan beamed.

"Bridge Over Troubled Water."

"...You're kidding, right?" Kai blurted out.

He felt the atmosphere in the room darken.

"Why would I be kidding?" Dan asked.

Kai thought maybe saying ' _because its really lame'_ wouldn't go down well...so he just kept quiet.

Dan let it slide.

"Do you know it?"

"...Yes." Kai sighed, who didn't know that song?

"Good! Let's do this then!" Dan said excitedly as he moved over to the piano, setting himself down and patting the the space next to him to join. He didn't move.

Dan waited.

"Come on Kai, we're not getting any younger here...me especially."

Kai felt rooted to the spot.

Scotty slapped his back supportively.

"Don't worry, you've got this..."

Kai dragged himself to the piano and sat down, once again he was in a position where he couldn't run off.

"Lyrics are here..." Dan whispered with a smile, pointing at the sheet music.

Kai blew out a breath of air. He felt his hands starting to tremble.

"You're fine...just relax...ready?"

He wasn't. But Dan had started playing the intro.

...There was his cue.

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Crap, he'd missed it.

Dan stopped.

"I can't..." he whispered back for the second time that day.

Dan looked up at the others before standing up, taking Kai's arm and lifting him up too.

"Excuse us a second, will you guys?" he said, positively as always.

They rolled their eyes and huffed, unimpressed as Mr. Harris dragged him out the room.

Out in the hall, Dan grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Will you stop saying 'I can't', it really doesn't suit you!" he said gently but firmly.

Kai felt defensive.

"Will you stop putting me in positions like this?! Stop making me do things I don't want to do!" he argued back.

Dan sighed, trying to think of a way to get through to him.

He got it, giving his shoulders a gentle shake.

"You wanna know why Scotty stood up for you?"

Kai tilted his head, he was curious about that.

"Because Reuben is his best friend. You finally started talking to him and then today you fell back on him. You gave a little respect and trust and it didn't go unnoticed...he's returning the favor..."

Kai didn't respond. Was it that simple?

"Those boys in there only know you as being stand-offish and defensive...and silent. It's understandable that they're hesitant. This is important to them. But it's the same thing. _I_ know you can sing, I've heard you. But I can't just tell them that, _you_ need to show them that you're willing to do this and actually put the work in _._.."

Kai let out a breath. Maybe he was right...

Dan slapped his shoulders.

"Come on, let's do this!" he said, trying to pep him up before he dragged him back in.

The door opened and he was met by a sea of folded arms and silent stares.

Apart from Scotty, who smiled and nodded at him.

"Right, let's try that again..." he said brightly as he and Kai sat back at the piano.

"Just the first verse, OK?" Dan instructed.

Kai felt himself freezing up again, he loosened his tie, hoping it would help him breath a little easier.

"It's OK...you can do it, just relax. Don't even look at them, pretend it's just me." he whispered again.

The piano started again.

He shut his eyes to block out the stares, trying to do what Dan said and pretended it was just him.

His cue came.

He inhaled and sang as best as he could.

" _When you're weary, feeling small_ _  
_ _When tears are in your eyes, I'll dry them all_ _  
_ _I'm on your side, oh, when times get rough_ _  
_ _And friends just can't be found_ _  
_ _Like a bridge over troubled water_ _  
_ _I will lay me down_

 _Like a bridge over troubled water_

 _I will lay me down"_

Dan grinned as he stopped playing. He'd nailed it...

He looked to the others, they were glancing at each other, not looking as hostile as before.

"Told you we should trust Mr. Harris..." Scotty smirked as he turned to the others.

"...that was...surprisingly good." one of them said.

"I would never have guessed you could sing..." from another.

"Yeh, not bad at all." another complemented.

"Right!?" Mr. Harris beamed proudly, putting his arm around a stunned Kai.

How had they gone from glaring at him to complementing him after just one verse of a stupid song?

"Hang on...I don't think you should all get so excited over one verse..." one last nay-sayer piped up.

Once again, Scotty came to the rescue.

"Oh, quiet Alan...unless you forgot, it took you long enough to get that verse right...he did it on the first try. He's fine."

Alan's face turned pink.

Dan tried not to smirk...he liked Scotty a lot. Good kid.

Scotty turned back to the group.

"OK, show of hands. All those in favor of Kai joining raise your hands."

Several hands went straight up, the rest hesitated, but went up eventually.

"Any one opposed, raise your hands."

Not one hand.

Scotty turned back to Kai and smiled.

"That settles it, welcome to the chorus."

Kai had no idea how to react to that, he just stared back wide-eyed.

Dan let out a hearty chuckle.

"Look at that, he's so happy, he's speechless!"

Kai glared at him.

Dan didn't even notice.

"Why don't you guys show him what you've got so far?" he suggested.

"Still needs some work...but just to give you an idea..." Dan added to Kai as the others got in to position.

Dan played the piano and the boys began to sing.

As Kai listened, he felt his stomach sink...they were good. Really good...there was no way he'd be able to get to that level...they were really serious about this and had clearly put in a lot of practice. What if he ruined everything for all of them? What if they lost because of him?

The climax of the song came, their voices sent shivers down his spine.

" _...shit..."_

The song came to a finish.

Kai's mouth was open slightly.

"So, what do you think?" Dan asked, smirking at his face.

"That was...awesome." he admitted, but his voice gave away his nervousness.

The group smiled at the complement.

"Glad you think so! From tomorrow you'll up there doing it with them...Good job, boys! Let's wrap it up for today. We'll really go at it tomorrow." Dan said happily.

The others got their things and started leaving

Kai didn't move. He leaned over to Dan.

"...Mr Harris, I don't think I can-"

"What did I just say about saying 'I can't' ?" Dan whispered back, scolding.

They were suddenly the last two in the room.

"I understand why you'd feel nervous...they are really good and you've never sung. But you still don't get it, do you? Individually they're all fairly decent singers. But together, they create something fantastic. Like that. You're worrying too much about you're own individual ability. It's not about that, it's about working together _with_ them. That's why you're here."

Kai let out a sigh, he wasn't going to argue, but he still wasn't convinced.

"...you wait and see." Dan smiled, "now don't you have training to do with Rei?" he said, hinting he could leave.

Kai frowned.

"...Don't we have detention now?" he asked.

"...not today." Dan's smile grew, he felt the kid earned a break.

"Oh...thanks...I guess I'll go train then..." Kai said a little taken aback, but wasn't going to complain. He got up to leave.

"Have fun with Reiii..." Dan said suggestively.

Kai whirled back round.

"Shut up!" he snapped back, a little pink in the face.

Dan played the piano again. Since he wasn't giving him more detention, he at least deserved a little torture as punishment for his insults earlier...

" _Cannnn you feeellll the loveeee tonight..."_ he sang.

Kai's face went from pink to scarlet.

"You know, it's this kind of crap that makes me hate you!" he snapped again, flustered.

"You don't hate me...I'm delightful and you know it." Dan continued to grin.

"Whatever..." he huffed, quickly leaving before he said something else.

The door closed and Dan was left alone, chuckling to himself.

"Ahhhh if it wasn't so easy to get under your skin, maybe I wouldn't do it so much..."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks for reading! I know Rei didn't appear much in this chapter. But the last one was basically all about them, so I wanted to focus on him and his classmates a little. He'll be back next time.

If you don't know Bridge Over Troubled Water...I don't know what to say. Where have you been? Go listen to it.

(I don't own Bridge Over Troubled Water. Simon and Garfunkel do.)

Hope you enjoyed it! Any comments appreciated! :)


	6. Sixteen Candles

Thanks to those who reviewed! Seriously appreciate it!

On with the next one! I know it's really soon after the last one...but there may be a little wait for the next.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 6

Sixteen Candles

Kai woke up with a sense of relief. It was finally Friday...

This whole week had been insane...he'd been forced to join a choir, Rei had become a teacher at his school, he'd gotten in to a fight, fought with his teacher multiple times...he was ready for the weekend.

Not that he was doing much, he'd be at school, training...there was a tournament coming up after all...but at least there would be no drama. Just peace and quiet.

Just one more day to get through...hopefully today would be less eventful than the rest of the week...it had to be, right?

He forced himself out of bed, taking himself on his run as always before getting ready for the day.

Rei made his way down to the teachers room.

He smiled as he saw Mr. Harris at his desk, frantically rummaging around his incredibly messy desk.

"Damnit...where did I put it..." he muttered to himself.

The bell went.

"Crap!" he yelled to himself, he was late. This school ran a tight ship, lateness among students wasn't tolerated...it was worse for teachers, they were the example setters after all. The principle had given him a real talking to before for being three minutes late to his own class.

Papers and files fell to the floor as he got more and more frantic, trying to look for whatever he was looking for.

"Got it!" he yelled to himself, holding up a crumpled piece of paper before taking off towards the door.

Rei shook his head and moved over to pick up the fallen papers for him. He noticed none of the teachers had such messy, disorganised desks...just him.

He knelt down and collected the fallen papers, placing them back on his desk. He figured they were already mixed up anyway.

He picked up a file that had fallen.

" _Class 4 Student Information"_

This was for his home room.

Rei looked around...he knew he probably wasn't allowed to look...but curiosity got the better of him.

He flipped it open, pages dedicated to each member of his home room with their basic information, emergency contact details, medical details and so on..

He knew it was wrong to be reading it...but he was only interested in one, anyway. He knew him, so figured it would be fine...

He turned the pages, passing the mug-shots of the other students until he came across who he was looking for.

There it was, that handsome, deadpan face looking in to the camera.

Rei smiled.

 _Hiwatari, Kai_

 _Parent/Guardian: Mr. Stanley Dickinson._

 _Date of Birth: October 18_ _th_

 _St. Tristan's Dorm Room Number: 104_

 _Allergies: None._

 _Other Notable Illnesses: None._

 _Other:_

 _Suspected social anxiety disorder and post traumatic stress by school counselor. Evaluation by psychologist recommended. Refused by student. To be discussed again following teacher's observation of behavior after six weeks._

 _Apparent anger control issues. Possibly related to above mentioned mental conditions. Evaluation by psychologist also recommended for this by school counselor._

 _Suspected victim of ongoing child abuse. Student refuses to comment. To be confirmed or disproved following court case with biological grandfather..._

Rei slammed the file shut...he shouldn't have read that. He didn't think that kind of information would be in there...if Kai valued anything, it was his privacy...and he violated it. He'd never forgive him if he found out he'd read something so personal. He knew relatively little about Kai's past, but what he did know wasn't good. He always assumed whatever happened made him the way he was...didn't need a psychologist to work that one out. And it wasn't surprising that he'd refused to talk to one about it...even though he probably should. But that wasn't his business or place to say.

He quickly put it back on Dan's desk and went back to his own.

As he sat at his own desk, trying to plan his class, he thought about the file. Something else clicked in his mind. He pulled out his phone and checked the date.

October 16th...

He frowned and went back to the file, quickly flipping it open and rechecking, before putting it back again.

Kai's birthday was this Sunday?! He hadn't said anything...he figured that wasn't too shocking, but he felt bad he'd never thought to ask him when it was.

He smirked and got an idea...but he'd need to run it by a few people first.

He got his phone out and started sending some messages.

He waited impatiently for first period to end...the bell finally went and he watched the door like a hawk.

Dan wandered back in to the teacher's room. As soon as he saw him, Rei jumped out his seat.

"MR. HARRIS!" he exclaimed, running towards him.

Dan recoiled a little, thinking something had happened.

"What's wrong?!" he asked panicked.

"Oh, no...Nothing is wrong..." Rei calmed down, realizing he had yelled, "I just wanted to run something by you...the students don't usually leave during weekends, right?" he asked.

"Not usually during term time...unless they make a request to leave for something in particular...they're not prisoners or anything, but the school has to give the green light, why?"

"You think we could get Kai permission to leave without him knowing?"

Dan frowned, what on earth was he talking about?

"You see...it's his birthday this Sunday...I was thinking of throwing him a surprise party at Tyson's...maybe we could say we wanted to train or something as a cover up..." Rei explained.

Dan's confused face softened and turned in to a smile.

"I'm sure we could arrange that...I'd be happy to drive you guys."

Rei beamed.

"That would be great! Only..."

"Only...?"

"I was thinking I should go tomorrow...you know, help set it all up...and he come Sunday?"

Dan waved the comment away.

"No problem, I'll drop you off tomorrow and bring him Sunday. That actually works out perfectly...we have chorus practice Saturday..."

Rei tilted his head.

"Can I ask...how's he doing with that? I asked him about it when we trained last night but he wouldn't say..."

Dan smirked, typical. Probably embarrassed.

"Well, its early days still...but he's doing well. I don't think he's too pleased about being in a competition, but I'm sure he'll pull it out the bag."

"...competition?" Rei asked.

Dan slapped himself mentally. He must not have told him. Well...he'd let that one out now...

"Uh...yeh...I may have told a little lie at the start...there's actually a yearly competition between school choruses and I may have...entered him in to it..."

Rei's face dropped for a second before it turned to a grin.

"Kai's going to sing in a competition?"

Dan matched his smile and nodded.

"That's...really cool." he almost gushed.

Dan smirked, "I'll make sure I get you a ticket...just...don't tell him I told you, please?"

Rei beamed.

"My lips are sealed..."

"And leave the permission slip to me...I'll make sure he gets it."

"Thank you, Mr. Harris!" Rei grinned before going back to his desk and sending excited messages.

The day dragged on as normal and came to a close. This week was finally over.

Kai went to bed that night, oblivious of the plans being made for him this weekend.

He got up the next morning, relieved at not having classes and threw himself in to training. Rei had already left for Tyson's. He couldn't join them because of stupid chorus practice that afternoon...but he had to put the work in anyway if he didn't want to mess it up...

He sighed as he launched his blade again for what felt the hundredth time. He was already starting to feel the pressure. Not only did he have his school work, he had a tournament and this god damn competition within weeks of each other...he was going to be burning the candle at both ends for the next month or so...

Once he'd finished his the training plan he set himself, he had just enough time to go freshen up and get back in to his uniform for chorus practice.

He went down...feeling the nerves in the pit of his stomach. He was getting fed up of feeling nervous. This whole week had been him feeling anxious to some degree. He didn't usually feel this way...little phased him, really...but then again, he was usually only with the one person he trusted. Himself. This week he'd been forced in to a lot of situations he wasn't comfortable with. That was probably all it was...unfamiliarity.

Yesterday was the first time he tried to sing with them as a group...he struggled to keep up, coming in too early or missing his cue...and they'd scolded him for not singing loud enough...not a great start, but he had to suck it up.

He opened the door wondering what kind of welcome he'd get...they probably weren't happy with him after yesterday.

They were all standing around waiting for Mr. Harris to show up.

"Hey Kai!" came one of the boys.

The others turned around, smiling and nodding to him.

...or maybe it was fine?

He quietly stepped in and stood at the side, waiting.

Mr. Harris arrived a few minutes later.

"Sorry, boys. Got held up! Let's get right to it, shall we? Let's get warmed up!"

Kai looked around, confused. This was new.

Mr. Harris laughed as he saw him.

"We've been a little lax this week...but that stops now. Got to warm up your vocal chords before every practice. Don't worry, you'll pick it up...Get in position boys."

They lined up, Scotty gently pushing Kai to where he was supposed to be.

"Right, let's do one, one two one..." Harris instructed.

" _What the hell is that?!"_ Kai wondered.

Mr. Harris began moving his arms to conduct.

The boys started to sing a weird number chant, their voices ascending and descending harmoniously in key.

" _One, one two one, one two_ _ **three**_ _two one, one two_ _ **three**_ _four three two one, one two three four_ _ **five**_ _four three two one..."_

Kai was completely lost. It wasn't a feeling he was used to.

"Stop!" Dan instructed.

Kai felt his flustered as Dan's eyes fell on him...he'd fucked it up and they weren't even two minutes in.

"Kai, come here.", he beckoned for him to step out.

He nervously left the group and stood in front of his teacher.

"Maybe it was ambitious to try and get you to pick it up. It's a little tricky at first. Don't worry, we'll teach you...I'll break it down, you sing after me."

He flushed harder, did he really have to do it in front of everyone?

"Ready? One, one two one..." he sang at him.

"...one...one two one..." Kai repeated back quietly, feeling ridiculous.

"I said sing it back to me, not say it back to me...I know you can say numbers...project your voice...again, one, one two one..."

Kai sang it back.

"Good. One, one two one, one two _three_ two one..."

Kai sang it back again.

"Nice, again. One, one two one, one two _three_ two one, one two _three_ four three two one..."

Kai tried, he ran out of breath towards the end and had to break for air before continuing. Dan stopped him again.

"This is exactly what we're practicing, we don't want to break the rhythm gasping for air. During songs you don't want to breath in between words, messes up the flow."

Kai frowned, when exactly could he breathe!? This was proving more complicated than he thought...

After a few tries, he was kind of getting the hang of it. Satisfied, Dan sent him back to his place amongst the others and they started again.

This time it was easier to keep up.

Once they'd warmed up, they got to work. They all took out their music sheets, handing a new one to Kai, Singing verses of 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' over and over again...they kept having to stop to direct him...

"You were slightly out of key there..."

"Almost, but what you should do is..."

"You came in a little too early there..."

He was quickly getting tired and flustered. He wasn't used to being a novice at things.

They kept on for about an hour before Mr. Harris called it a day.

"Good work today, guys. It's coming together nicely!" he praised.

The boys began to head out. A few of them patting Kai on the shoulder as they passed.

"Good work, Kai."

"Yeh, you made a lot of progress today!"

"Keep it up!"

Kai frowned, he thought he'd sucked miserably again...were they joking?

He stayed back as the others left. Leaving him and Dan.

"...You all right?" Dan asked, wondering why he hadn't ran out the door yet.

"...can we go over it again?" he asked shyly.

Dan smiled, Kai was a perfectionist. But he was happy to see he was willing to put extra effort in to it.

"Sure."

They went over the verses he was struggling with a few times, Dan teaching him how to change his posture to project better and where to take breaths in between. Little things that once he got the hang of, would make a big difference. They finished off by singing the whole song through. It already sounded better.

"That was nice!" Dan praised, impressed. "Just keep practising what I told you and it'll come together in no time."

Kai nodded. He sure hoped so.

Dan felt his worry.

"The boys were in the same position as you a few weeks ago. No one is perfect right away...it takes practise. I'd have thought you of all people would know practise makes perfect."

Kai smiled slightly.

"Well, let's call it a day, shall we?"

"Yeh. I'd better go back to training..." he sighed. His head and throat were hurting from singing so much.

Dan couldn't believe he'd almost forgot...

"Oh! Speaking of which, Rei called. They want you to go over tomorrow, something to do with training. I'll drop you in around midday..."

"Oh...all right. Thanks..." he said, wondering why he hadn't called him directly before taking his leave.

He went back to training until the early hours of the evening before retreating to his room, exhausted.

He lay on his bed, his body felt tired but restless at the same time.

He sighed and stood up, closing the window of his room.

"OK...let's try this again..." he mumbled to himself.

He took a deep breath and paced around his room.

"One, one two one, one two _three_ two one, one two _three_ four three two one..."

Later on, he sat at his desk. He figured he should get all his homework done tonight in case training ran late tomorrow. As his pen scratched along the lined paper, he sang to himself quietly, making sure the people in the rooms next to him couldn't hear.

" _I'm sailing right behind_ _  
_ _Like a bridge over troubled water_ _  
_ _I will ease your mind_ _  
_ _Like a bridge over troubled water_ _  
_ _I will ease your mind"_

He even fell asleep humming to himself, going over it again and again in his head.

He woke up the next morning, taking himself for his run. As his feet hit the track beneath him, he sang quietly to himself while trying to breathe.

As he returned to his room, he got showered, still singing. He was already sick of that god damn song...but he wasn't perfect yet...

He changed in to his usual clothes, scarf and donned his usual face paint. Feeling like himself again.

At 11:30am on the dot, there was a knock at his door.

He opened it and Harris greeted him. Dressed in casual jeans and a blue sweater. He'd never seen him out of his work clothes before. Dan gave him the same look. He'd seen him on TV in his strange get-up. But this was the first time in person.

"Ready to go?" Dan asked.

"Yeh."

He lead him down to his car and the two got in, buckling up.

Dan took out his phone and tried to subtly message Rei.

" _The eagle has flown the nest...ETA 20 minutes."_

They drove in silence. Dan usually tried to make conversation, but he knew himself well enough to know he'd let something slip somehow...so took a leaf out of Kai's book and stayed quiet.

They pulled up at Tyson's place. Dan got out his phone.

" _Here! Get ready!"_

Kai moved to get out the car.

"Hey, mind if I come in and say hello to the guys?" Dan asked.

"...If you want." Kai replied, shrugging.

The two walked up to the front door. They rang the bell.

No answer.

Maybe they were already outside, Kai thought, trying the door. It was open. He pushed it open and the two walked in.

It was oddly quiet...he felt something was off.

He frowned and walked through to the living room, Dan close behind.

He jumped out his skin when he heard bangs.

"SURPRIIIIISSSSEEEE!"

The bangs had been party poppers.

His teammates plus Mr. D and Grandpa were stood with their arms out, yelling at him.

There was a big, red banner along the wall that read 'Happy Birthday", balloons littered the floor and the low table was covered in food.

Kai stood stunned, trying to compute what was going on.

"Happy birthday, Kai!" they shouted.

"Ha! You should see your face!" Tyson laughed, pointing at him.

Kai could only blink.

"...it's not my birthday?" he thought aloud, albeit quietly.

Their faces dropped. That wasn't exactly the reaction they expected. They all looked at Rei.

"What?! Kai, when is your birthday?" Rei asked, terrified the file had a mistake on it.

"October 18th." he answered.

"And what's the date today?" he smiled.

It was Kai's turn for his face to drop.

...It _was_ his birthday today.

They burst out laughing as they saw it click.

"Dude, did you forget your own birthday?!" Tyson laughed in disbelief.

Kai glanced around at them. He had. But then he never celebrated his birthday, so it was always just another day.

Rei came forward and grabbed him by the arm.

"Don't just stand there! Come in! You too, Mr. Harris."

Dan accepted and let himself in. Chuckling as he watched Kai seemingly not knowing what to do with himself.

They all settled themselves on the floor around the low table. Mr. Harris on Kai's right, Rei on his left.

He sat upright, stiffly. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do here.

"So, how old are you today, little dog?!" Grandpa asked, excited.

"Uh...sixteen." he answered quietly, shifting in his seat.

"Ahhh! Sweet sixteen!" Mr. Dickinson joined in nostalgically.

"God, I feel so old..." Mr. Harris sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"How do you think we feel!?" Grandpa snapped back playfully.

They got chatting and soon the ice broke. But Kai couldn't help but wonder...how did they know it was his birthday today? He hadn't told anyone...it was bugging him, but he kept quiet.

Plates were handed out, they started eating and laughing.

Tyson naturally shovelled in as much as he could.

Kai frowned.

"Hey! Show some restraint! How are you gonna be able to train if you keep eating like that?" he scolded.

They stared at him.

He looked around as he felt their eyes on him.

"...What?"

"...What do you mean train?" Max asked.

"...that's why we're here, isn't it?" he said, not understanding the confusion.

They burst out laughing again.

"You really are slow...we're not training today! We're here for your birthday! That's all!" Tyson laughed.

Kai stared at him, unable to hide the confusion he still felt. This wasn't just...a quick thing before practice?

"Seriously...do you ever switch off?" Max laughed, "How do you usually spend your birthday?" he asked curiously.

Kai tensed.

"I don't do anything..." he mumbled.

There was silence.

"Hold on...you're saying you never celebrate your birthday?" Tyson quizzed.

"Why would I? It's just another day." he answered bluntly.

"Like ever?" Tyson kept on.

Kai huffed.

"No, Tyson. All right? I've never done anything for my birthday. Leave it at that." he warned, not wanting to talk about it any more. He didn't grow up in an environment where anyone celebrated you for coming out your mother.

"Well...then that makes this the best birthday party you've ever had!" Tyson grinned, feeling the awkward tension, but deciding not to let it put a downer on things.

Kai let out a smirk. Couldn't really argue with that.

They managed to continue on with upbeat chatter. The others regaling Dan with tales of Kai's most badass moments in their time as a team. As well as some slipping in a few of their own success stories in between.

Dan listened intently, like a little kid being told a gripping bedtime story.

"I can't believe I missed those matches! They sound incredible! You have videos of any of them?" he asked hopefully, wanting to see his boy in action.

Kai scoffed.

"Why would you want to watch them? They're done now..."

Dan rolled his eyes.

"Can't a teacher show interest and pride in his student!? Why you gotta be like that?"

"Hey,I know! Mr. Harris, you should totally come to the tournament next month! See it up close! We can get him tickets, right Mr. D?" Tyson asked.

"Of course!" the old man smiled.

Dan's eyes lit up, Kai's darkened.

"I'm sure he's got better things to do..." Kai said flatly.

"I don't!" Dan replied brightly, unaware it made him sound like he had no life whatsoever.

"You're busy with the chorus, remember..." Kai said darkly, hinting for him to decline. It was a mistake.

"Oh YEHHH! I forgot! How's that going!?" Tyson asked with a stupid, mocking smirk.

Dan laughed, Kai set himself up for that one...

Kai just glared back at Tyson, warning him to drop it.

"He's doing very well! He's surprising everyone with how beautifully he can sing!" Dan beamed.

Kai stiffened and cringed at the sound of snickers from the others.

"Is that so?" Tyson asked in an overly sweet voice. They rarely got a chance to rib big, bad Kai.

"What do you guys sing, out of interest?" he pried, hoping it would be something hilariously corny. A gushy love song, perhaps.

"Well, the song we're working on is _hmph_!"

He was cut off when Kai's hand quickly slapped over his mouth.

" _Stop_..." he hissed.

It was like looking at a sulky teenager with his embarrassing dad.

They burst out laughing again and let it drop, it would be mean to taunt the birthday boy. They changed the subject and went on talking amongst themselves.

As the conversation went on, Mr. Harris was preoccupied with his phone. After a while, he set it on the table and stood up, stretching his legs before excusing himself to the bathroom.

Not long after he left, it vibrated.

The sound made Kai's head turn to it automatically.

It buzzed again, his eyes caught the screen.

The name "Charlotte" came up on the screen with a heart next to it.

Kai let out an evil smirk.

Dan came back a few minutes later and settled himself back down next to Kai.

As the others were in their own conversation, Kai leaned in to him and spoke quietly.

"Who's Charlotte?" he asked slyly, enjoying the feeling of the tables being turned for a change.

Dan tensed.

"None of your business." he said quietly but firmly, a faint pink in his face.

"Ohh...did I touch a nerve there, Mr. Harris?" Kai mocked, mimicking what he'd said to him about Rei last week.

To his surprise, Dan smirked evilly back.

"...You really wanna play this game with me?"

Kai raised a challenging eyebrow.

"That isn't wise, Kai...he's right there and I have little in the way of shame." Dan continued, referring to Rei, threatening.

Kai tensed too for a split second before letting his smirk grow.

"And you're forgetting I'm capable of making every day a living hell for you...we've got more than two years stuck with each other."

Dan snorted. Touché.

"Well then...I guess we should both call it even and drop it."

"...so what lies did you have to tell to trick her in to going out with you?" Kai mocked playfully but defiantly.

"Right. You asked for it..." Dan chuckled back, he put an arm around Kai and leaned over him.

"Hey Rei, did you hear that? Kai was just saying how happy he is that you're at school with him."

Rei turned from the conversation he was in to them, bewildered. It didn't sound like something he'd say. Especially not to Dan.

"Really?"

Kai's face paled. He was trapped. He couldn't exactly say he didn't...

"Uh...yeh..." was all he could manage to answer.

Rei's eyes beamed.

"Thanks...me too, it's really nice seeing you every day."

It was Kai's turn to flush.

Luckily, Rei's attention was quickly drawn back to the conversation he was having with Max.

"...I told you not to push me...that was a warning. I can do much worse." Dan whispered playfully, smiling at his red face.

Kai started to stand up.

"All right...you win." he said in a fake voice.

Dan watched him. This didn't seem right.

Kai stepped over him before leaning down, his hands on his knees and spoke quietly.

"...But if you're gonna pull shit like that, you should keep a better eye on your phone..." he whispered before quickly leaving the room.

Dan eyes widened as he caught what he said, hunting for his phone. His face paled.

The little bastard took it...there was no password on it.

"KAI!" he yelled before taking off after him.

The others turned there heads as they heard the yell and watched Mr. Harris run out the room and heard his feet thudding up the stairs.

Kai instantly reappeared back through the other door to the living room. He'd circled around through the kitchen, a triumphant smirk on his face as he sat back down discreetly slipping the phone back on the table, untampered with.

"...what's going on?" Rei asked, wondering what he'd done to him this time.

"Nothing..." Kai answered innocently.

Thudding came back down the stairs.

"Kai! I'm not playing around! Give it ba-!" Dan's yelling cut short out as he came back in and spotted Kai sat back down, looking up at him as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.

"Give what back?" he asked innocently again.

Dan's eyes clocked his phone where he'd originally left it, he grabbed it and opened it, checking to make sure he hadn't done anything.

He let out a small sigh of relief before narrowing his eyes at his student.

He set himself back down, not wanting to draw any more attention to himself.

"Dirty trick..." he whispered to Kai.

"You started it..." Kai laughed.

"All right...I may have deserved that..." he admitted with a small smile, letting him have this one and calling a truce. It was his birthday, after all.

The lights suddenly went off. Rei walked in from the kitchen, his face lit by the light of candles on a cake.

"Happy birthday to you..." he started.

The others joined in singing.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Kaiiiiii. Happppy birthdaaay toooooo yoooouuuuu!" they sang almost operatically.

Rei placed the cake in front of him and sat beside him.

Kai met his eyes. The light from the candles making his eyes glow a deep amber.

Rei was thinking exactly the same, except he was seeing a deep amethyst.

"Make a wish." Rei instructed.

" _It already came true..."_ Dan thought to himself in a high pitched voice and fought back a snicker. This was, funnily enough, like that cheesy romance movie "Sixteen Candles"...then he sighed, knowing these kids were probably way too young to even know that movie...

Kai forced himself to pull his eyes away back to the cake. He really didn't like having attention on him like this...and it was a bit childish for his liking...but he was touched by their effort to give him a nice birthday.

He obligingly took a breath and blew out the candles, they clapped and cheered and the lights came back on.

"Oh! I forgot the knife! Sorry guys, hold on!" Rei exclaimed before getting up again and running back to the kitchen.

Dan leaned in to him again with his sly smirk, the little candle-lit look between them didn't go unnoticed.

"I'll bet a month's salary I can guess what you wished for..." he teased.

"...Don't start..." Kai warned, feeling his face heat up.

The party went on. More food eaten. More laughs amongst friends. Kai was actually having a good time. Even with his idiot teacher there.

Time went on, Mr. Harris checked his watch.

It was almost six. The school had a rule that they had to back by seven on Sundays.

"Ah...sorry guys, we have to go back soon..." he groaned. He was enjoying himself as well. These were good fun. And it was nice to see Kai a little more relaxed and having fun for a change.

They started to help clear away before they went to take their leave.

"So Kai, did you have a good birthday?" Max asked.

Kai wasn't good at this sort of thing...but they had done something nice for him, and he did have a good time...

"I did...thanks guys."

"No problem, happy birthday." Tyson smiled back.

They waved goodbye and got back in Dan's car, taking them back to the school.

When they arrived, the three of them headed to the dormitories.

Kai turned right to head for the student dorms, Dan and Rei heading left for the teacher's.

Rei stopped, clenched his fists and turned.

"Hey Kai?"

Kai stopped, his hand on the door handle, and turned. Dan also stopped.

"Yeh?"

Rei walked up to him.

"I uh...I dunno, I didn't want to give you this in front of everyone...stupid, I know..." he said nervously as he reached in to his bag and pulled out a wrapped present and slowly handed it to him.

"...Happy birthday..."

Kai took it and looked at it, a blank expression on his face.

He kept staring at it. Rei felt awkward.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

Kai looked up.

"No...sorry...I've just...never been given a present before." he admitted.

Rei's face saddened. Combining what he read the other day in Kai's file,what he knew already, and the fact that he'd never had a birthday, he got the feeling Kai's upbringing was a lot worse than he'd imagined.

Dan's face also fell. He didn't know many details either...but he'd been given a small amount of information about it. Not that Kai knew that.

"Thank you..." Kai let out quietly, figuring that was the appropriate response.

"You're welcome..."

"...Rei?"

"Hm?"

"...How did you know it was my birthday?" he asked. He'd been wondering that all day, he knew he'd never told anyone. He had no reason to. He'd discreetly tried to get it out of Tyson, who let slip the whole thing was Rei's idea.

Rei tensed.

"Oh...I have my ways..." he smiled as he turned, hoping Kai would let it drop.

Luckily for him, he did. Kai wasn't one to press. He bid him goodnight and disappeared behind the door of the student dorms.

Rei turned and followed Dan to their own.

Kai sat on his bed, staring at the gift. This felt strange. What would Rei have bought for him?

There was a little envelope under the string. He slipped it out and opened it.

" _Dear Kai,_

 _Happy Birthday!_

 _I really hope you enjoy the party and I hope you like this..._

 _From,_

 _Your Dr. Watson."_

He smiled and set the card aside before neatly unwrapped the paper and peeled it off.

He gasped slightly.

It was an old, red leather book with faded gold lettering.

" _Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles."_

His eyes widened as he checked the inside. His suspicions were confirmed. It was a first edition.

He knew this must have cost a hell of a lot of money...which he also knew Rei didn't have...he bought this for him? How did he afford this? Where would he even have got this? Why would he spend so much money on him?

But it wasn't only that.

This one was his all time favorite...

How had he known? Or was it just a coincidence?

He felt a rush of butterflies go through him, a broad smile spread across his face as he gently flipped through the off-color pages of such a perfect present.

He wanted to go and thank him...but students weren't allowed in the teacher's dorms. Plus, he worried he'd say or do something stupid...

He got out his phone and started typing.

 _Kai: Thank you, Rei. You really shouldn't have done that...can't imagine that was cheap._

As he hit send he panicked. Was it wrong to say something like that? He'd never been given anything before...he wasn't sure what the etiquette was.

His phone buzzed a minute later and he opened it.

 _Rei: You're welcome! Do you like it!? I wasn't sure which one to get you...knowing my luck I bought one you don't like...and don't sweat the cash. I got paid upfront for the month here. You deserve something nice...makes up for the years we didn't get you anything :)_

Kai stared guiltily at the screen. Rei spent the money he earned on him? From what he knew, first editions usually cost hundreds of dollars at the very least...God knows what this had set him back.

 _Kai: That's really nice of you Rei, but I can't accept it. It's too much. Take it back and keep your money. You earned it._

A reply came within seconds.

 _Rei: ...You don't like it?_

Kai panicked. It was a message...but he could hear Rei's disappointed voice in his head.

In Rei's room, he was laying on his side on his bed, the lights off. The light from his phone shining on his face as he eagerly waited for a reply, worried he hated it.

Buzz.

 _Kai: No, I love it. This is actually my favorite one...I just can't let you spend that much on me._

Rei's face lit up and his stomach flipped. He can't believe he managed to pick his favorite. What were the odds?!

 _Rei: :D Really?! I'm so relieved! And shut up...it's my money, I'll spend it on what or whoever I want. Just say 'thank you', take it and enjoy it. Happy birthday._

Kai smiled.

 _Kai: Thank you..._

Rei smiled too. Kai never messaged him casually, he wanted to keep it going as long as possible...maybe it would become a regular thing...

 _Rei: Besides, how do you even for sure I spent that much on it?_

His phone buzzed a minute later and he quickly opened it.

 _Kai: It's elementary, my dear Watson..._

Rei bit back his grin and rolled on to his back, sighing out a small laugh.

Kai waited nervously...was that a really lame comment to make? He had signed the card 'Dr.

Watson'...maybe it wasn't too terrible? Did it even make sense?

His phone buzzed.

 _Rei: Indeed, Mr. Holmes ;)_

Kai grinned and flung himself back on the bed.

 _Kai: Heh, thanks again Rei...it's perfect._

Rei smiled uncontrollably.

 _Rei: You're welcome. I hope you had a good birthday. See you tomorrow...night._

 _Kai: I did. Thank you. Night._

Kai set his phone down and settled in to his bed, putting his arms behind his head.

Even if this hadn't have been the first birthday he'd celebrated, he was pretty sure this would still be the best birthday ever.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

End chapter! I know Rei didn't appear much the last chapter, hope this made up for it.

Thought it was also about time Kai and Mr. H did something other than piss each other off and bonded a little...even if it was tormenting each other.

I updated two chapters pretty soon after each other as I may not have time to write any more for a good few weeks. I'll do my best, but gonna be super busy for the next little bit! Might be a little wait!

I hope you enjoyed it! Comments always appreciated!

Thanks for reading!

See you next chapter...whenever that will be!


	7. Skipping Stones

Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since the last update. I've been really busy at work! As always, thank you so much to people who left comments! Appreciate it a lot!

So...I've kind of fallen in love a little with my own OC, Mr. Harris. In my head he's the most lovable little loser ever with a heart of gold. So I wanted to make this chapter kind of centred around him and Kai.

I'm also taking things a little in to Kai's past. Which I adore to do and mentioned last chapter. I like giving him fucked up backstories and making him a bit of a head case. Because in my mind, he just has to be, right?

I won't lie, I've been a little stuck on this story since the last chapter. I know where I want to go with it, but I also wanted to take it down some other roads, like this. So I just went with it. But I hope you enjoy it.

On that note, on with the chapter!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 7 – Skipping Stones

Dan sighed as he put down the phone.

He knew this was going to be...interesting.

He wondered whether he should tell Kai in advance...then decided against it. Knowing him, he just wouldn't show up.

He looked at the clock.

They'd be here in an hour. That'd put him in fourth period.

During fourth, Kai sat at his desk, trying to stay awake as their English teacher droned on about the significance of...oh who even cared? Something...that they'd just read in The Great Gatsby.

The door clicked open and Mr. Harris' head popped in. The teacher and students turned their heads to him. He beamed his usual grin.

"Sorry to interrupt...can I borrow Kai for a little while?" he asked in a slightly high pitched voice.

"By all means..." the English teacher nodded before he and all the students turned their heads from Mr. Harris to him.

Kai ignored them, as he often did. The chair legs scraped against the floor as he stood up, shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out the room.

Dan closed the door behind him,

"What did I do this time?" Kai asked bluntly.

"You haven't done anything...just come along." he instructed as he nervously walked him down the halls.

Kai followed obediently, but began to slow his pace as he started to realise where he was being taken.

The school councillor's office.

"Why do I have to talk to this joker again?" Kai spat, annoyed.

"You'll find out when you're in there...and please try to be nice this time?" he begged.

The last encounter wasn't exactly...pleasant. It ended with Kai losing his temper, colorful insults, telling them to mind their own damned business and to shove their help somewhere...well, somewhere one wouldn't want to shove things.

Mr. Harris opened the door of the office and gently pulled him in.

Even though he only had a very gentle hold on his arm, he could feel how tense he was.

He had his back up already...wonderful.

Kai glanced in to the office.

Three men were sat around the long table of the meeting room. One was Mr. Dickinson. The other was Mr. Anderson, the school councillor. The other...he didn't know who this guy was.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Hiwatari...please, take a seat. And you of course, Mr. Harris." he instructed with a soft smile and that horrible, calm voice councillors seemed to have. He was in his mid-forties, black hair that was quickly going white, hazel colored eyes that sat behind silver framed glasses.

Kai glared at him and sat himself down beside Mr. Dickinson, folding his arms and letting out a huff. Mr Harris sat next to him.

"I know we weren't due to meet for another two weeks...but I'm afraid it's bad news that has brought us here today and made us push up the date."

Kai's eyes went from the desk to meet the his hazel ones.

"...I'm very sorry to inform you your grandfather suffered from a heart attack last night..." he said in a soft, sympathetic voice.

Dan felt him tense even harder beside him.

"Is he dead?" Kai asked bluntly.

"No, he's stable."

"...you're right. That is bad news..." Kai mumbled out quietly.

The unfamiliar man tried to write something subtly on his clipboard.

Kai caught him and his eyes narrowed.

"And you are...?"

This man was of a similar age to Mr. Anderson. His wavy, brunette hair slicked back. His deep brown eyes left the paper to meet Kai's angry looking glare.

"My apologies. My name is Dr. Steven Lowry." he introduced. His deep voice holding that calm tone that Kai hated.

Mr. Anderson looked nervously between them, familiar with Kai's personality.

"We'll come back to Dr. Lowry in a short while...but first, about your grandfather..."

"What about him? He didn't die...why are you even bothering to tell me?" Kai snapped.

Mr. Dickinson spoke for the first time since Kai had entered the room.

"Because he's requested to see you..."

Kai turned his head to him. For a split second, his face looked shocked before quickly hardening again.

"No." he said flatly.

"Mr. Hiwatari..." Mr. Anderson started softly, "The doctors are concerned about his deteriorating health...they say at the rate he's declining, he won't live much longer..."

Kai's eyes flamed.

"I said no...and besides, I thought I wasn't supposed to have any contact with him until the trial anyway..."

"Well, no. But under the circumstances, the powers that be have allowed this to be an exception as he may not be around to even stand trial... It would, however, be a supervised visit."

"No." Kai barked, feeling deep hatred in his gut.

Of course his worm of a grandfather would die before he stood trial for everything he did...never get sentenced for being the scumbag he is...Kai felt his blood begin to boil just thinking about it.

Dr. Lowry stepped in.

"...Perhaps this is your grandfather's attempt to make amends with you...are you not even slightly interested in what he may have to say to you?" he asked.

Kai's eyes were now fully ablaze.

Who was this guy? What did he know about any of this? Who the hell was he to tell him what he should and shouldn't do!?

Kai felt the anger in his stomach start to grow.

"The only way he could even begin to make amends would be to have the slowest, most agonising death imaginable...only to find himself in the pits of hell where he belongs..." he growled.

Dr. Lowry just nodded.

"And do you not feel like you may have any regrets? If he were to pass and you hadn't taken the chance to tell him what you felt either?"

Kai let out an angry grunt as he stood up from his chair. Fists clenched.

Mr. Dickinson and Mr. Harris braced themselves.

"I have _nothing_ to say to him. I'd be happy never to see him again and even happier if I heard he died cold and alone in his flea-ridden bed like he deserves! Who the _hell_ are you anyway?! You don't have a clue about any of this!" he yelled.

Dr. Lowry looked up at him calmly.

"...I guess you deserve an explanation. We were going to wait until a little later in our meeting. Please have a seat."

Kai stayed stood, not wanting to take orders from him.

A soft smile cracked on Dr. Lowry's face.

"As you wish...at your last meeting with Mr. Anderson, he recommended an evaluation by a psychologist due to suspected post traumatic stress, anger control and social anxiety..."

Kai scoffed, cutting him off.

"To which I told him to go fu-"

"Kai..." Mr. Harris warned.

"...to which I _respectfully_ declined."

"Be that as it may, you were told the issue would be re-discussed at a later date. The date was scheduled to be a few weeks from now, but under the circumstances has been moved to today. And I am the psychologist Mr. Anderson would like to refer you to..."

Kai's eyes narrowed.

"You're wasting your time. There's nothing to discuss. There's nothing wrong with me. I won't do it..." he argued defiantly.

"Mr. Anderson felt that would be your response...which is why we have your legal guardian and home room teacher here to discuss it with, too."

Kai didn't like the way he'd said that. As if that gave him some kind of ace up his sleeve.

Dan knew he was getting too riled up. If this guy kept pushing him, he'd snap. He couldn't honestly say he liked this guy's approach either. He touched Kai's arm.

"...Have a seat? We're just going to talk..."

Kai looked down at him and already felt a little calmer. His teacher was an idiot, but a fair one. He'd back him up... He stayed quiet for a moment before huffing again and sat himself down.

Mr. Dickinson's eyebrow lifted. He wasn't usually so obedient.

Mr. Anderson and Dr. Lowry were looking over a file. After the last meeting, Mr. Harris had been asked to make note of any behavioural issues.

"...it says here since our last meeting, there's been an incident of violence..." Mr. Anderson looked up from the paper.

Mr. Dickinson turned to him, wide eyed.

"Violence?!"

Kai rolled his eyes.

"Yes...with a member of his home room."

Mr. Dickinson frowned and leaned back to see Mr. Harris.

"It didn't occur to you to inform me about this?!" he asked in an annoyed tone that was rare in the old man.

"My apologies, Mr. Dickinson. The issue was resolved at school and we didn't see the need to take it further." Mr. Harris defended politely.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Mr. Dickinson asked Kai angrily.

Kai almost pouted. He'd already had the lectures about roughing up Giles a little...

"I was provoked. He had it coming..."

Before he could explain, Mr. Anderson continued.

"and there are...several...reports here about bursts of rage directed at your teachers..."

Kai glared at Mr. Harris, who caught it and sighed.

"What? I was asked to keep a log of stuff like this...I can't just lie and say you're a delight..."

"It also says you showed panic and anxiety at a simple trust exercise in your class..."

Kai started to feel the rage build up again. He was starting to feel attacked. Like they were looking for anything they could use to make him appear unstable.

"If I may interject..."

They all turned to Mr. Harris, who had raised his hand.

"All this is true...but you're yet to comment on my other notes. I've also clearly stated in there that he's made progress with his classmates, he eventually did the trust exercise and he's even agreed to join the school choir." he beamed proudly.

"...Ah, yes..." Dr. Lowry said after glancing at the paper some more, "which was a condition to being allowed to enter the next beyblading tournament...?"

Both Mr. Harris and Mr. Dickinson reluctantly nodded.

"I see..."

Kai appreciated Dan's effort anyway...

Mr. Anderson cleared his throat.

"I sense that you believe getting him to join your group will solve all his problems..." he said in a slightly patronising way, "and I do agree it could help him become more socialised, I'm not discouraging it...but that is only part of the issue. It is both mine and Dr. Lowry's opinion that he needs some professional help...especially now we're in the months leading up to the trial...it will surely be a lot for him to handle...we'd prefer it if he came willingly, of course, but...consent from the guardian may be necessary." Mr. Anderson said as he looked between Dan and Stanley.

Kai fought the growl in his throat. He didn't appreciate any of that or that they talked about him like he wasn't there. He'd never met this Lowry guy...how was it his opinion he needed 'help'? And as for Anderson, did he really think he was too weak to deal with the trial? He'd lived through the actual thing the trial was about and survived...besides, this was nothing to do with either of them. Any of them. This was between him and his grandfather, who apparently at death's door anyway. Mr. Dickinson wouldn't force him in to something like this...they were wasting their time.

Kai turned to Mr. Dickinson, who was giving him an apologetic look.

Or maybe he would...

Kai's frowned.

"...Don't tell me you're buying this crap?" he asked aggressively.

Stanley took a breath, thinking about his words as to not anger him.

"...I'm sorry Kai, but I have to say I agree...I think this is a long time overdue..."

Kai frowned harder and the growl that he was keeping down escaped his throat.

"...so you think I'm some kind of deranged sociopath, too?" he asked darkly.

"No one is saying anything of the sort..." Stan replied sternly.

"No one is saying that. We're just worried about you." Dan reiterated, putting a hand on his shoulder, worried he was going to erupt.

Kai flinched away from his touch. He leaned over the desk and snatched the file out of Mr. Anderson's hands.

Kai's eyes scanned the file and he grit his teeth. The pieces of paper they were using against him, the words making him out to be some kind of freak.

He grabbed the paper and tore them out the file before violently ripping them up, forcefully throwing the shredded pieces at them before standing up.

"Worry about yourselves! I don't need your concern and I don't need help! Especially not from you two clowns!" he yelled at them.

"If you want to help, then leave me the hell alone!" he yelled louder, he looked over at the other two as well, "All of you just leave me alone!"

Dan stood up, too. Trying to send messages to him mentally to stay calm. He reached for his shoulder again.

As soon as his fingertips made contact with him, Kai snapped.

He turned and shoved him with every fibre of force he had. Dan stumbled back and almost tripped on the chair. He regained his balance, but his face remained shocked. Kai had never been physically aggressive towards him.

"You touch me again, you'll regret it!" he roared at him, his eyes burning with rage.

Dan had seen him angry many times before, but not like this. He looked ready to attack him.

Kai tore his eyes off Dan as he felt eyes on him.

He could feel them judging him. Despite knowing deep down he'd just overstepped the line and pushed his teacher, the looks made him angrier. He felt suffocated.

He had to get out.

He turned and stormed out the room, leaving the four adults in an awkward silence.

Dan head for the door to go after him.

"I'd leave him to cool off if I were you, Mr. Harris..." Stanley said, stopping him.

Dan let out a sigh. If he'd just stay calm and not get so defensive, he wouldn't be in this position.

"I assume I have to sign something?" Mr. Dickinson said almost sadly, knowing now he couldn't really deny it wasn't the right thing to do.

Dr. Lowry nodded as he leant down to his briefcase and pulled out a form.

Stanley took it and read it over.

"It's asking here for an appointment date..." he stated, enquiring.

Lowry got out his planner.

"I actually have an opening tomorrow morning at my office, if that isn't too soon?"

Mr. Dickinson thought about it.

"I'm afraid I'm unable to take him tomorrow...I have a meeting I simply can't postpone on such short notice."

"I'll bring him..." Mr. Harris sighed. Despite knowing this was probably best, he didn't like forcing him like this.

Mr. Dickinson gave a grateful nod.

"If it's not too much trouble, that would be appreciated."

They spent a little time finalising the details. He was to be at Dr. Lowry's office for 10am the next morning...

And Dan was lumbered with giving him the news and dragging him there...fantastic.

Anderson and Lowry took their leave, leaving Dan and Stanley together.

"I do hope I've done the right thing here..." Stanley sighed, guilt in his voice.

"I think you have, sir...unfortunately he's just too proud and stubborn. He was never going to make this easy."

"Very true...and I must apologise on his behalf for pushing you like that..."

Dan waved his apology away.

"It's fine...no harm done."

Stanley shook his head.

"It was unacceptable behaviour. He has incredible control over every emotion but his anger. This time it was a push, but who knows what could happen the next time someone upsets him..."

Dan nodded. He really didn't seem to have control over it once his temper started.

"...in a strange way though, it does tell me that he cares about you."

Dan choked out almost a laugh and turned to him.

"How does him shoving me in a Kai-rage tell you you that!?"

Stanley smiled.

"Not the shove, per se...but we tend to lash out at those we feel closest to. Looking back at when you first became his teacher until now, I can see the change every time I see you both. He listens to you and respects you. Do you really think he would have gone along with the whole choir thing so easily if he didn't trust you?" he let out an amused chortle, "He'd rather forfeit his place in the tournament... No, he's bonded with you, he just doesn't know it. He may explode at you for trying to help him, but I can guarantee if you gave up and stopped it would hurt him...I can only imagine how...frustrating...he must be, but I'd like to tell you how grateful I am that you're looking out for my boy."

Dan smiled back at him.

"It's my pleasure, Mr. Dickinson..."

After he left, Dan suddenly didn't feel all warm and fuzzy towards Kai...he still had to go tell him about tomorrow.

He made his way to where he was sure he'd be. His room.

The talk went as well as expected.

He lost his temper again and threw his lamp against the wall.

Dan snapped a little to.

"You know what, Kai? You're your own worst enemy, you know that!? If you stopped spinning out and letting your temper get the better of you, you probably wouldn't be in this situation...If you'd have just kept a lid on it and heard them out and _calmly_ talked to them, Mr. Dickinson maybe wouldn't have felt the need to sign that paper...but you didn't and he signed it. Be ready by 9:15." he ordered before leaving, not allowing him to come back with anything.

He knew he probably couldn't control it...but he still had to take responsibility for it.

Kai didn't show up to chorus practice that afternoon. Which didn't come as a surprise to Dan. They'd make up the time another day.

He didn't show up for training either. Leaving Rei to practice alone, feeling ditched.

The next morning, Dan knocked on his bedroom door at 9am. He figured he'd need to give a little extra time in case he was difficult.

To his surprise, the door opened. Kai was dressed in his school uniform, looking somewhat defeated.

Dan smiled at him. He didn't have to like it, that was fine. But he was being mature enough not to put up a fight.

He led him down to the car and the two silently drove out of the school grounds.

The drive was silent. As always.

Kai stared aimlessly out the window.

Dan glanced at him and his brows furrowed. He felt guilty.

He felt for him. He had only been given pieces of information about Kai's background...that was messed up enough as it was. Who knew what the whole story was.

His grandfather had sent him to grow up in some weird institution of some kind and near enough brainwashed? From what he'd been told, it didn't seem like it was done in the most humane of methods. No wonder he didn't want to go and see him...no wonder he didn't want to talk about it either.

Dan was torn. On the one hand, he knew it would be a good idea for him to talk about it. He knew he needed to. It just wasn't in his nature to.

After sleeping on it, he could understand where the outburst had come from yesterday...hell, he'd seen him explode over much less. But this time he could see it was entirely defensive. They were trying to force him to open up. Get in his business. Dan trying to touch his shoulder had just been another invasion of space that pushed him over the edge. It wasn't personal. But he had to learn to keep a lid on it...

On the other hand, he didn't really like the way Mr. Anderson and Dr. Lowry had handled it either. They really seemed to be focussing on all the negatives. If that were him, he'd have felt attacked and defensive, too... as crude as the analogy was, Dan knew Kai was like a rat. If you cornered him, he attacked and went for the jugular. Which is exactly what he did.

To them, they saw what was written on paper and went off that. To them, his outburst was just a symptom of an underlying mental health issue that they couldn't wait to diagnose him with.

But to Dan, he wasn't notes on paper.

He was a messed up kid who needed someone to be patient enough to be there for him until he was ready. Dan was doing his best to be that person. Maybe he'd never open up to him. But Dan wasn't ready to throw in the towel.

They came to a crossroads and an idea came to him.

" _It's worth a shot..."_ he thought to himself as he flicked the indicator and turned left instead of turning right.

Five minutes later, he stopped at a convenience store.

"Coffee?" he offered, knowing how much his student adored the stuff.

Kai was a bit surprised.

"...I don't have any cash on me..."

"My treat..." he smiled.

"Oh...sure...thanks..." Kai answered wearily.

Dan disappeared in to the store and came back a few minutes later carrying the brown paper bag.

Kai watched him as he got back in the car. Dan ignored him again.

They kept on driving and soon the urban surroundings became woodland.

Kai noticed and frowned.

"...this isn't the way, is it?" he asked.

For once, Dan gave _him_ the silent treatment.

Kai ignored him and figured he knew where he was going.

His browns kept their quizzical position as they got deeper in to the lush, green wooded area...and more so when they eventually reached an empty parking area.

The car pulled in and Dan shut off the engine.

He grabbed the bag holding their coffee and unbuckled his seatbelt before opening the door.

"Come on..."

Kai's eyes narrowed...what was he up to? They had to be at the stupid shrink's office any minute.

He slowly unbuckled his seatbelt and got himself out the car, shoving his hands in the pockets of his grey school pants.

"...Where are we?" he asked almost sighing. He wasn't in the mood.

"Shut up and follow me..." Dan said bluntly before he walked ahead.

Kai let out a tiny smirk before following...seems he'd rubbed off on his teacher a little.

They walked through a shallow wooded area before coming out the other side to a small lake.

There was a fallen log laying on the stony beach. Dan sat himself down on it and gestured for Kai to join him.

As he did, Dan passed him a styrofoam cup before taking his own out and setting the bag down.

They stared out at the lake. There wasn't a soul around. The water sparkled as the morning sun hit it.

Kai waited.

"...What is this?" Kai asked finally. Feeling impatient.

Dan took a sip of his coffee.

"Well...I sometimes come out here when I've got stuff on my mind. It's usually pretty quiet. Not many people around...I thought maybe you'd like it."

Kai lifted a brow.

"...but we're supposed to be at that guy's office..." he checked his watch, "...right now."

Dan turned to him and smiled.

"I know."

He set his coffee down and stood up. Scanning the ground and finding some flat stones. He took himself closer to the edge if the water and brought his arm back, swinging his arm forward throwing the stone. It bounced three times across the water before it disappeared.

Kai watched as his teacher skipped stones.

"All right! Five bounces!" he celebrated before turning back to him.

"How many can you do?" he asked.

Kai swallowed his gulp of coffee.

"...No idea...never tried it."

Dan's eyes sparkled.

"Well then, let me show you! Come here!"

Kai rolled his eyes, but obliged him. He set his own coffee down and sauntered over to him. Dan put some stones in his hand.

"Watch me, then you try...arm back like this...and...throw!" he said as his stone skipped four times.

Kai copied what he saw Dan do. He brought his arm back and threw the stone. It sank in to the water.

Kai snorted at himself.

Dan chuckled to.

"You threw too hard. Relax your arm. Try again."

Kai did as he was told. It skipped a few times.

"There you go!" Dan beamed proudly.

The two continued skipping stones quietly for a while, enjoying the peace.

"Mr. Harris...why aren't you taking me to Dr. Lowry's office? Won't we get in trouble?"

It was Dan's turn to snort.

"As if you give a shit about getting in trouble..."

Kai smirked for a moment.

"But really...what is this about?"

Dan threw the last stone in his hand and dusted his hands off.

"Well...I don't know exactly...I agree it's probably in your best interest to go...but I also don't like the idea of you going against your will. I don't see what good that would do..." he thought carefully before continuing, "...they can't help your issues if you don't acknowledge you even have any."

Kai felt the spark of anger in his gut again. But strangely enough, it died down just as quickly as it came. Because he knew deep down he was probably right.

Dan was surprised that didn't set him off. He tested the water further.

"I know you keep saying I don't know you...but I do, to some extent anyway...you wouldn't spill your heart out to someone you've never met. Maybe it would be a waste of time. But I really hope you'll consider giving it a chance at least..."

Kai stared at him, listening. Dan turned and met his gaze.

"...and I want you to know I'm always here for you."

There was a different, unfamiliar feeling in the pit of Kai's gut.

Dan had been persistent since day 1 trying to connect with him. He'd never given up no matter how many times he yelled at him, called him horrible things, walked out on him, given him the silent treatment...even physically pushed him...

He felt guilty, and for the first time, he let his wall come down. Only ever so slightly.

He turned back to look out to the lake.

"...I'm worried they'll make me go and see him..."

Dan wasn't expecting that.

"Your grandfather?"

Kai nodded.

"...No one is going to make you see him. That's down to you."

"They're making me do this, aren't they? They seemed pretty keen for me to go for some reason..." he replied, not believing him.

"Why don't you want to go?"

Kai felt the emotions in him bubble up in the form he was most comfortable with. Anger.

"Because I _hate_ him!" he growled out, "I don't care what he has to say! I highly doubt it's an apology, even if it was, he can shove it! Nothing he can say or do can make up for what he did to me!" he yelled.

"...What did he do to you?" Dan asked carefully.

Kai stayed quiet a second. His eyes grew dark.

"...he put me in the hands of a sadistic lunatic to train me to be a puppet for his insane plans. I had the family name shoved down my throat and got told to honor it, but I wasn't seen as family...just a thing for him to use. He didn't care how they did it, as long as they broke me and made me fall in line with what they wanted..."

Dan listened, he could see the anger fading more to sadness with every sentence.

"He's the reason I'm like this. He's the reason I fucking hate everyone! Because despite everything, he taught me a valuable lesson. People are only out to get from you what they can. They'll chew you up and spit you out and walk over you when they're done with you and not give a fuck about you after! Why should I 'open up' to people like everyone seems to want me to? It's only going to get thrown back in my face, so why bother? I'm better off on my own. I'm the only one I can trust."

Dan's face fell.

"You're right..."

Kai's face also softened, puzzled at the unexpected response.

"There are plenty of bad people in this world who will try and use you...you're not wrong there..."

A small smile raised at the corner of his mouth.

"But there are also plenty of genuinely good people...and you know that. You're just afraid to see it..."

Kai scowled in disagreement and Dan's smile grew.

"Oh? So Tyson, Max, Kenny and Mr. Dickinson are out to use you? They're bad people?" he challenged.

Kai didn't reply.

"Rei's a bad guy?" he smirked.

"...No." he admitted quietly.

"No, none of them are. So why do you hold them at arm's length?"

Kai turned him again, he was thinking about it.

"...I don't know."

Dan's eyes softened.

"I think you do, really...but it's all right. You don't have to tell me..."

He turned and went back to the log, picking up his coffee. He couldn't help but smile on the inside. Kai had opened up to him for the first time ever...even just a little. He lifted the cup to his mouth.

"...Because I'm scared I'm wrong..."

He brought the cup down and stared at him wide eyed. He was still facing the lake.

"...and I'm scared to care about them. About any one. I'm not supposed to."

Dan stood himself back up and wandered back over to him.

"What do you mean you're not supposed to?"

Kai turned his head to him. His eyes glistened ever so slightly. He looked hurt.

"I'm not allowed to feel anything for anyone. That's not what they programmed me for...I know it's over now and it was all lies...but I still can't..."

His voice trailed off and he once again averted his eyes out to the water. He looked like he was trying hard to think of what he wanted to say.

Dan's eyes saddened. He did what he always did and put a hand on his shoulder.

"...It's all right...one step at a time. Don't force yourself."

Kai nodded.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, Kai. There's nothing I can do to change it or make it better, but I'm really glad you told me. And I'm always here if you need to talk. But I think you should really think about talking to someone more qualified than me about it...I know you didn't like Lowry, but why don't we compromise and say see him once, see how you feel...if you still don't feel like you can talk to him, we'll find someone else until you find someone you are comfortable with..."

Kai nodded again. He was breathing heavily through his nose, looking flustered. It seemed like now he'd let something out, he was struggling to get it back in.

Dan smiled again.

"Hey, Kai..."

Kai turned to him.

"...Project your voice."

"What?" Kai frowned.

Dan smirked and turned to the water, bringing his hands to cup around his mouth.

He leaned back and shouted as loud as he could. His voice echoed across the water.

Kai let out another snort.

"You're such a loser...I'm not doing that."

"Ah, come on! There's no one here. Feels great, trust me! Call it a warm up for practice today."

Kai rolled his eyes and shook his head, holding back an amused smirk.

He took in a deep breath, balled his hands in to fists and yelled as hard as he could until his lungs were empty. Two birds that were bobbing in the middle of the lake flew off.

He panted softly as he got his breath back.

"That feel good?" Dan asked, smirking and his arms folded.

Kai smirked back at him.

"Not bad..."

"Told you using your voice can help..." Dan said in a 'told you so' voice.

"Oh shut up, choir nerd..." he said playfully.

"Hey, you're one of us now..." Dan countered as he lead Kai away from the lake. It was time to get back.

"I am _not_ one of you..." Kai argued.

"One of us...one of us...one of us..." Dan chanted as they both walked back to the car.

As they drove back, Dan called Dr. Lowry, putting him on speaker. He apologised for missing their appointment, claiming he got the date wrong. Lowry didn't sound impressed. Kai tried hard not to laugh.

With Kai's permission, they rearranged the appointment for a few days time. On the condition that Dan kept his word and wouldn't make him go to him again if he hated it.

They went quiet again after he hung up.

"...Mr. Harris?"

"Yeh?"

"I'm sorry I pushed you yesterday..."

Dan thought his head was going to explode. First he opened up to him, then he agreed to go talk to the psychologist, now he was apologising? This was...progress.

"It's all right. Forget it even happened..."

They arrived back at school during the lunch break. Kai disappeared instantly and Dan didn't stop him. He'd done good today, he was proud of him.

Their home room at the end of the day finished a little early. Dan, Scotty and Kai made their way to the music room.

Rei wandered to Kai's classroom, hoping to catch him. He didn't show up to practice last night and he hadn't been able to catch him all day today.

The room was almost empty. One of the students was still there and told him they had chorus practice in the music room.

Rei thanked him, that was his second guess anyway. He made his way down there.

"All right guys, let's get started, shall we?" Dan said brightly after they warmed up.

They lined themselves up as Dan sat at his piano.

He played the intro to _Bridge Over Troubled Water_ and they began to sing.

The first verse was soft, before getting slightly more powerful at the chorus.

It built up intensity through the next verses before reaching the climactic final verse and chorus, packing a punch.

One person's voice soared.

The others did a double take while trying to keep singing.

Dan bit back a smile as he continued to play, seemed he was trying things his way today. Projecting his voice. Was it Christmas or something?

...Rei stared dreamily as he stood in the doorway. He'd never heard him sing. Or the group. Shivers went down his spine. They sounded fantastic and Kai's voice was standing out from the rest. He sang beautifully...

As soon as Dan stopped playing, the others instantly turned to Kai.

"Dude...that was incredible."

"Yeh, I don't know where that came from, but keep it up!"

"That was awesome..." came a voice from the other side of the room.

They all turned and Rei was stood grinning at them.

Dan's cheeky smirk grew as he glanced to see Kai's reaction. As expected, he was beet red.

"Hey, thanks Rei!" Scotty beamed.

"Sorry to sneak in...I was looking for Kai and came in just after you guys started. I hope you don't mind me watching."

"No, not at all!" Dan answered for them, "You need to steal Kai?"

"Oh...no...I just wanted to know..." he turned to Kai, "Are we training tonight?"

Kai opened his mouth to answer.

"Ye-h"

His voice cracked, he'd strained his throat singing so hard.

He cleared his throat, cringing.

"Yeh...give me like half an hour..." he muttered out, embarrassed.

Dan tried so hard not to laugh. Poor thing...

After practice, Kai went to...more practice.

He met Rei on the school roof, where they had set up a dish.

Rei was already at it when Kai showed up, too engrossed in watching his blade whirl around the dish to notice him.

Kai smirked, quietly throwing off his jacket and loosening his tie before getting out Dranzer.

He positioned himself as to not hit Rei from behind and launched his blade.

Rei jumped as the unexpected blade flew in from behind him and hit his. He composed himself and smirked. The two blades grinding against each other.

Kai ran himself over to the other side, and the two went in to a practice match.

Rei glanced at his surprise opponent, his eyes went from determined to soft.

In front of the dusky pink backdrop of the early evening sky, Kai stood strong, smirking his trademark smirk. His shirt sleeves rolled up and his tie hanging loosely around his neck. A breeze blew by and his slate hair gently waved in it.

God, Rei loved that uniform on him...

Kai's blade smashed in to his and Driger flew back to the edge of the dish.

"What are you doing? Get your head in the game, Rei!" his deep, husky voice barked.

Rei slightly shook his head, scolding himself mentally for letting his mind take him off like an infatuated girl and concentrated.

Driger fell from the edge back in to the dish, going after Dranzer. He dodged him.

Rei let out laugh.

"Someone's been working on their defence...not that it'll save you."

It was Kai's turn to glance at him.

What was left of the sun shone on his skin and highlighted his determined and playful eyes. Despite not being so close to him, the light made his eyes even more golden.

Kai drew his eyes away, now wasn't the time to stare at him. He had a game to win.

Both Driger and Dranzer flew towards each other. With a crash, they made impact.

The second they blades hit each other. A strange full-body sensation went through him. Like his whole body had a sudden onset of intense pins and needles...but good pins and needles. He let out a gasp.

Dranzer moved away from Driger and the sensation stopped instantly.

He panted slightly and lifted his eyes to Rei.

He was staring at him too, looking bewildered and also breathing heavier.

"...Did you...feel that?" Rei asked him.

Kai nodded.

"What was that?" Rei asked.

Kai reached out his hand and Dranzer flew back in to it.

"No idea..."

Rei caught Driger.

"...Let's see if it happens again..." Rei said curiously, putting his blade back in the shooter.

Kai did the same, they got in to position.

They launched and the blades crashed in to each other as normal.

Nothing.

Despite being distracted by the mysterious sensation, they got in to the game. Kai came out the victor.

They took a break.

"...Must have just been some weird...one off thing? Some kind of energy transfer?" Kai said. Stumped as to what it was.

"I guess...just so weird..."

They were quiet.

"Hey, Kai...?"

"Hn?"

"...Why didn't you come yesterday? I waited for you."

Kai tensed.

"Sorry...I got...held up."

Rei huffed.

"You didn't get in trouble again, did you?" he asked sternly.

Kai shook his head.

"Then...what?"

Kai glanced over at him and met his eyes.

He wanted to talk to Rei. He always had wanted to talk to him about things. He just could never bring himself to. And now wasn't the time to start...even he knew telling the person you wanted to like you, as just a friend or otherwise, that you're being forced in to a psychological evaluation wasn't a good idea.

"Voltaire had a heart attack."

There...he wasn't lying and he wasn't telling the truth either.

"Oh...is he...?"

"No, he's alive, sadly."

Rei looked completely clueless as to what to say. He knew 'I'm sorry to hear that' wasn't appropriate...

Kai felt his hesitance.

"It's OK, don't worry about it. It's nothing big. Just meant I missed training for a night."

Rei nodded, scrambling to think of something to change the subject.

"You sang brilliantly today...I didn't know you could sing that well."

Kai stiffened.

"Thanks...just...don't drop in on practices again."

Rei chuckled.

"What? Why not?" he asked, feigning ignorance...he knew he was just embarrassed, but wanted to see if he'd admit it.

Kai squirmed slightly.

"Well...It's not ready yet. And...It'll put the others off..."

Rei smirked at his pathetic excuse.

"The others? Don't you mean you?"

Kai's face went pink again.

"I don't care if you're there..." he huffed, folding his arms.

Rei's smirk got even bigger.

" _You're so full of crap..."_ he thought to himself.

"All right...I'll try not to throw off 'the others' in future."

"Hn."

"...Wanna go again before it gets too dark?" he asked, holding up his blade.

Kai opened his eyes.

"Fine. Try not to make it so easy for me this time..."

Rei scowled playfully.

"Shut up and let's go..."

They went back to the dish and got in to position.

They had four more matches, saying it was better to make it best of five.

But really, they were both hoping the weird feeling would come back.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

End of chapter!

I know this was a very different chapter and came away from the story so far a little (apart from the very end, had to slip Rei in :P)

This isn't going to turn in to an abbey story or a trial story. But it is about Kai becoming more social and facing things, so I wanted to look in to that. 'cause let's be honest, a chorus alone probably isn't going to fix that boy.

As I said, I love Mr. Harris. I really want to make a good bond between those two.

I hope you enjoyed it, I had the idea and went with it!

Any comments appreciated as always! Thanks for reading.


	8. Broken Trust

Hey all! Thanks so much for the comments! Sorry updates are taking a while! Super busy, but doing my best!

Anyway, on with the chapter!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 8 – Broken Trust

Dusky pinky mixed with deep blue and oranges in the sky as Rei and Kai launched their blades on the school roof.

They made their first hits before bouncing away from each other and whirling around the dish.

Rei lifted his amber eyes to Kai, stood opposite him. Arms folded and hip jutting out. Smirking his trademark smirk.

Rei narrowed his eyes before tearing them away from his smokin' hot rival. Determined to stay focused.

"Get him, Driger!" he ordered.

Driger's speed increased and sped towards Dranzer.

Kai's smirk only grew.

Dranzer's speed also picked up and head straight towards Driger.

The two blades slammed in to each other, sparks flying, the sound of grinding metal.

Rei let out a gasp, his body tensed as sparks flew within him, too.

His whole body erupted in an intense tingling sensation.

Dranzer hit Driger hard and pushed him away.

The tingling stopped instantly.

Rei's body relaxed and he took a few deep, steadying breaths before lifting his eyes to Kai again.

He too was breathing heavier, but his face still held that smirk of his. His eyes glinted.

He held his powerful gaze as he stepped away from where he was standing, beginning to move to around the dish. He almost lazily held his hand out and Dranzer obediently flew in to it as he walked towards Rei.

Driger's spinning slowed to a halt and toppled in the dish as Rei stood frozen, watching Kai step closer and closer towards him, their eyes locked.

Within mere seconds amethyst and amber were inches away from each other. Kai's hand lifted to Rei's chest and pushed him to step back, powerlessly.

His back met the wall.

Kai continued to move closer as his body gently pushed in to Rei's. Trapping him against the wall.

Rei's breath stuck in his throat as Kai's hand went from his chest up to his chin. He gently tilted Rei's head up and moved his in closer.

Rei's eyes automatically fell closed as he felt Kai's lips gently meet his.

The tingling started up again.

Rei let out a slight moan in to the kiss as he felt his body go weak.

Kai responded by kissing him harder.

The tingling got stronger.

Rei's knees got weaker.

Kai moved his hands down and took hold of his weak legs, hoisting them up to wrap around his waist, pulling them both even closer.

Rei's hands wrapped around his neck, one hand snaking up and running his hand through Kai's hair as the kiss got more fiery and urgent...

 **BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.**

Rei's eyes snapped open, panting slightly as he fumbled around frantically looking for the button to shut the alarm off.

He sat up in his bed, wide eyed.

His stomach squirmed.

He cursed the alarm clock for ruining such a good dream.

He sighed and forced himself out of bed, heading for the shower.

As he lathered his hair with shampoo, he thought back to his brief but wonderful dream...

It had only been two days since the weird feeling happened on the roof. But he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Yesterday at practice, nothing had happened either. Was it a one off thing? Just one of those unexplained things? Or did it mean something, like his dream suggested...?

He didn't have a clue where he'd even begin looking in to that...it wasn't something you could just Google...maybe he could ask Dizzi about it?

If it was like his dream suggested...what if she turned around and said 'it's because you're hot for Kai!'. Then everyone would know...

Maybe he'd leave it a little longer...see if it happened again...

xxxxxx

Kai lay in his bed, already wide awake as his alarm went off.

He hadn't slept much.

He had to go and see that doctor today. And this time he wouldn't get out of it.

He was dreading it, he already felt the nerves in the pit of his stomach. He'd be alone with that guy...forced to talk about...whatever he was going to talk to him about.

He tried telling himself it wouldn't be as bad as he was thinking it would be...but he knew he was lying to himself.

He dragged himself out of bed and showered. Getting himself ready for the day to come.

He felt his nerves grow stronger when he heard the knock at his door.

Mr. Harris would be taking him. For real this time.

He opened his bedroom door, and as usual Mr. Harris beamed his happy-go-lucky grin at him.

But that grin softened to a sympathetic smile as Dan could pretty much smell the nerves coming off him.

They silently walked to his car and got in. Kai clicked his seat belt in and let out a sigh.

"It's gonna be fine! It's just an hour. You've got this." Dan encouraged before starting the engine.

Kai nodded, not feeling quite so optimistic.

They drove wordlessly for the whole 25 minute drive to Dr. Lowry's office.

As the car pulled in and the engine shut off. Kai froze.

He really didn't want to do this.

Dan unbuckled his seat belt and looked over at his nervous looking student.

"...Remember what I promised you. If you don't like him, we'll find someone else. Just give him one chance." he reasoned softly.

Kai took a breath and forced himself to get out the car, following Dan in to the tall, brick building.

They took the elevator to the sixth floor. The metal doors slid open. A dark blue carpeted floor and white walls greeted them. Dan put his hand on Kai's shoulder and guided him to the reception.

A plump, cheerful looking woman in her forties sat typing at a computer behind the desk. She had short, curly brown hair and red cat-eye shaped glasses.

She smiled sweetly as she noticed them.

"Good morning!" she said brightly, "Can I help you?"

"Morning!" Dan replied equally as chipper, "We have an appointment..."

"May I ask for the name?" she asked before he finished.

There was silence for a few seconds before Dan gently tapped Kai's shoulder.

"Uh..." Kai hesitated, his mind going blank for a second, "Kai Hiwatari..." he mumbled quietly.

The woman smiled and typed at her computer.

"Ah, yes. 09:30 with Dr. Lowry. Please have a seat, he'll be right with you."

Dan thanked her and took Kai over to the blue plush chairs. He took a seat and looking at his watch.

It was only 09:20. He knew they left too early...but since he 'forgot' about last time, he figured they should be punctual this time...but now Kai was going to sit there getting worked up for the next ten minutes...he could already feel the tension. They'd only been there a minute...

xxxxx

Back at the school, Rei sat at his desk checking over the writing practice he'd assigned for his class.

He was surprised how nicely all six of them could write Chinese characters, considering they were all beginners. A few little mistakes here and there, but overall he was impressed.

He saved Kai's til last. He picked up the paper and a small smile crossed his face as his eyes scanned it.

Of course, his writing was beautiful. His handwriting as surprisingly nice in English, too. For someone so 'tough' looking, he had perfect cursive handwriting. Rei figured since he wrote Japanese as well, that gave him an upper hand over the others. It was still well done though.

The staff room door opened and Mr. Simmons came in.

"Hey, has any one seen Dan?" he asked, addressing the almost full staff room.

"Didn't you hear?" came another teacher, "he took Sunshine to the shrink...they're finally making him go get his head checked."

Rei's eyes widened and ears pricked up, but kept his head down.

"Really!?" Mr. Simmon's asked, interested. Forgetting about whatever he needed Dan for.

"Yeh. About time too, if you ask me. I heard from the school councilor that their meeting the other day was...interesting."

Mr. Simmons snorted.

"I can believe that...let me guess, he lost his temper again?"

"Big time..." the other teacher sighed, "he even pushed Dan pretty hard by all accounts..."

"What?!" came Mr. Simmon's shocked voice as well as a few other teachers, who stopped what they were doing. Rei's jaw dropped.

"Yep..." the teacher said tiredly as he sipped his coffee.

A growl came from the older, grouchy teacher.

"That boy ought to be expelled..."

"I don't think that's necessary..." one of the other teachers said as he rolled his eyes at the old-school, grumpy old man, "he's a pain in the ass, but Dan's adamant that he can't help it. Hopefully the doctor gives him some sedatives or...a lobotomy or something..." he snickered.

Rei felt anger bubble up in him. He really didn't appreciate how they were talking about him for one. And he was seriously unimpressed that Kai had pushed Mr. Harris. Even if he did have problems, there was no excuse for that.

xxxxx

Back at the office, Kai shifted in his seat impatiently. He glanced at the clock. It was 09:35...

"Will you relax?" Dan whispered to him, despite being the only two in the room, "you're starting to make _me_ feel nervous! It's just a talk. He's not going to eat you."

Before Kai could snap at him, the door of one of the offices opened and Dr. Lowry stepped out.

"Ah, Kai! Good morning. Sorry to keep you waiting. Please, come in..."he said in that horrible overly calm voice Kai despised, motioning for him to come in.

Kai felt himself tense up. He forced himself to stand. His legs feeling weaker. He felt like there was a swarm of butterflies in his stomach.

He took a breath and willed his feet to move, ignoring the supportive look Dan was giving him and heading in to the office. The door closing behind him.

Dan sighed, nervous himself. He prayed he wouldn't lose his temper like last time. He got out his phone and messaged Mr. Dickinson.

 _"He's just gone in. Will keep you informed."_

Kai stepped in to the office and looked around. The same blue carpet, same white walls. Book cases lined the walls filled with leather bound psychology books. Weird, abstract art on the walls and finally, a desk opposite a long couch.

He flinched slightly as he heard the door click closed. The two of them were alone.

"Please, have a seat..." Dr. Lowry gestured at the couch before taking his seat at the desk close by.

Kai did as he was told. He sat at the edge of the seat and folded his arms. His body tense.

Dr. Lowry looked him up and down.

"There's no need to be so uptight. Please try and relax." he said with a small smile.

Kai glared at him.

"Let's get straight to it, shall we?"

Kai didn't respond.

"Have you thought any more about visiting your grandfather?" Dr. Lowry asked.

Apparently they were going to jump straight in...

"I'm not going." Kai said flatly.

"May I ask why?"

"I don't want to see him."

"...and why is that?"

Less than a minute in, Kai already wanted to run out.

"We don't get along..." Kai answered vaguely.

"Could you elaborate on that?" Dr. Lowry asked, raising his brow slightly.

Kai stayed silent.

Dr. Lowry waited, giving him time to respond and nodded when he was sure he wasn't going to get one.

"I understand that as a child you were sent to an institution in Russia called 'Balkov Abbey'. Could you tell me about that?"

Kai's eyes narrowed.

"How do you know about that?" he asked suspiciously.

"I was given your files." he responded, a small, calm smile on his face that made Kai want to punch him.

"What files?" Kai demanded.

Dr. Lowry ignored him and looked over the papers in his hands.

"A training institution for highly talented and skilled bladers...may I ask what is so terrible about that?"

Kai felt a spark of rage. If he had files on him, he'd know exactly what was terrible about it.

"You tell me _doctor_...you've apparently read up on it..." he spat.

"That would be defeating the point. You're here so _you_ can talk about it." he argued calmly.

"I don't want to talk about that." Kai bit defiantly.

"Do you not think you should? You're going to have to eventually at the trial..." Dr. Lowry reasoned.

Once again, Kai stayed silent.

"Would you say you were mistreated by Lord Voltaire?" he pressed after several seconds of silence.

Kai's eyes narrowed again. "Lord Voltaire"? Why the formality towards him? Something didn't feel right...

Why the persistence about visiting him? Why the focus on the abbey? He seemed to know an awful lot about it and didn't seem to think there was a problem with it...

A horrible, paranoid thought popped in to his head.

He knew there was something off about this guy...could it be he knew Voltaire? Even worked for him? Could it be the old man had arranged this somehow to see if he'd talk? See how much information he'd give ahead of the trial?

He felt on edge, like his body was on high alert. Like he was in danger.

His mind continued to race, convincing himself that he was somehow connected to the old man. He told himself repeatedly that the idea was farfetched...but it didn't seem to help the niggling paranoia worming its way through his head.

"I..." he tried to start, but found it harder the breathe, "I don't want to talk about this..." he breathed out.

Dr. Lowry tilted his head sympathetically.

"I'm sure it's difficult...but I feel this is the root cause of your problems. Your anxiety, your anger...keeping it bottled up won't help you. You need to face your demons. Acknowledge them. That's the first step towards us helping you."

Kai wasn't listening. His heart began pounding rapidly. He felt hot. He didn't feel right. He suddenly felt terrified.

Dr. Lowry frowned as he saw him rapidly break in to a sweat. He wasn't breathing right.

"...Kai?" he said, concerned.

Kai felt fear take over him. It was overwhelming. He'd never experienced anything like this before. He was starting to hyperventilate.

He had to get away from this guy.

He forced himself up and sped to the door. He turned the handle, but it wouldn't open. It was locked.

Why the hell was it locked?!

The panic intensified.

"Let me out!" he shouted back at Dr. Lowry, pulling at the door.

"Now hold on...let's just calm down..." Lowry said slowly as he stood up from his seat.

" _Let me out!_!" he shouted louder between rapid breaths.

He started banging against the door.

 _"Mr. Harris?!_ " he yelled.

From his chair in the waiting area, Dan looked up when he heard banging against the office door.

Then he heard his name being yelled.

 _"Mr. Harris!?"_

He instantly got up and went to the door. He tried it, but it was locked.

Why the hell had he locked the door?!

Kai's frantic yells came through the other side of the door again.

Dan growled, he knew he didn't like this guy. He _knew_ he'd fuck it up somehow. What was he playing at locking him in there? He felt an inate almost paternal feeling come over him. He needed to get him out.

The receptionist was stood up, too. Wondering what the comotion was.

"You got a key to this door?" he barked at her.

She nodded dumbly.

"Then bring it over!" he yelled at her.

She did as she was told and shuffled behind her desk before briskly walking around and handing it to him.

He snatched it from her and thrust the key in the door, turning it and pulled it open.

As it opened, Kai near enough fell in to him, clutching his chest. It was starting to hurt. His heart was beating so fast it was painful. Was he having a heart attack?! His body was shaking.

Dan held him, wide eyed. He looked terrible. He'd been in there less than ten minutes. What could have happened?!

"Hey, hey...what happened?" he asked gently.

Kai looked up at him, panic in his eyes. He tried to speak, but couldn't. He was hyperventilating uncontrollably and starting to feel dizzy.

Dan looked over him. He was sweating, shaking, breathing weird and looked like he was having chest pains...he'd seen this before.

"All right...let's sit you down..." he said calmly as he gently lead him to a chair and pushed him down.

Dr. Lowry tried to follow.

"You stay back! You've done enough!" Dan growled at him angrily before turning back to Kai. He knelt down in front of him and put his hands on Kai's knees, looking up at him, his trademark smile on his face.

"Kai...I think you're having a panic attack, buddy. You ever had this happen before?" he asked softly.

Kai shook his head through rapid breaths.

"All right...your heart feels like it's gonna explode, right?"

Kai nodded and looked even more freaked out, he clutched his chest harder.

"Don't worry. I know it's not pleasant, but no harm will come of it. I promise. It's going to stop. All of this is just temporary. You hear?"

He nodded.

"Can you talk?" Dan asked him.

"...Yeh." he choked out.

"OK, good. Now I need you to try and take as slow and complete breaths as you can."

He clearly was trying, but couldn't slow it down. He started getting frustrated and it increased.

"It's fine. Don't get flustered. I'm right here, we're going to beat this together." he soothed.

"What's your favorite subject?" he asked suddenly.

Amongst the panic in his face, Kai frowned at him.

"Answer the question." Dan coaxed gently.

"Uh...it's...music." Kai panted out.

Dan raised a brow.

"My class? Really? What do you like about it?"

"I like...playing...violin..." he answered breathlessly.

"You sure it's not because I'm the greatest teacher you've ever had?" Dan joked.

"Don't...flatter..yourself..." Kai joked back, the corner of his mouth lifting in to the slightest smile.

"What else do you like?" Dan asked.

"...History."

"Oh yeh? How come?"

"I dunno...I've always been...interested...in old stuff..."

Dan cracked a small smile. His breathing was already calming. He asked him a few more questions like that and he was soon able to answer more smoothly. He was calming down.

"Can you take a few deep breaths? Do it with me..."

He took a big inhale through his nose for a few seconds, Kai copied. He blew the air out his mouth, which Kai copied too, but it came out shuddered.

"That's it. Keep doing that." Dan praised, patting his knee.

Kai did as he was told. He was feeling a lot better.

After a few minutes, he'd completly calmed down.

"That's my boy..." Dan said kindly as he stood himself up. "You all right for me to have a word with _Mr_. Lowry?"

Kai nodded, but felt himself get anxious again. He didn't know what he'd tell him.

Dan kept his smile until his back was turned to Kai, then his face dropped. He head in to the office and pulled Dr. Lowry in, shutting the door.

"What the _hell_ happened?" he demanded.

"I simply asked him some questions regarding his grandfather and he went in to a panic." he replied, stating the obvious.

"That's funny...about five minutes left in a room with you and it brings on his first panic attack..."

"I hope you're not suggesting this was my doing..." Dr. Lowry responded curtly.

"I'm not suggesting it was your fault. I'm _telling_ you it was your fault!"

Dr. Lowry huffed a small laugh.

"I think you'll find it's me that has the PhD in clinical psychology, Mr. Harris...I think I know what I'm doing better than you do..."

"I don't need a doctorate to know you suck at your job!" Dan barked, "you're idea of treating someone with anxiety and post-traumatic stress is to lock them in a small room with someone they don't know and jump right in there?! Why would you lock the door?!"

Dr. Lowry huffed again and opened his mouth to respond, Dan raised his hand.

"You know what, I don't even want to hear it. We're done here. We'll find someone ourselves. Good day, doctor...try not to scar anyone else..."

He turned on his heel and left the office, returning to Kai. He looked up at him nervously.

Dan smiled at him.

"Come on...let's get out of here..."

He helped him up and they took the stairs down. Dan thought an elevator may not be the best for him if he still felt anxious at all.

He got him in the car and settled himself behind the drivers seat. He hesitated as he went to turn the engine on.

"...You want to tell me what happened in there?" he asked as he turned to him.

Kai kept his eyes on the dashboard in front of him. He looked embarrassed and ashamed.

"I...got a stupid idea in my head...next thing I knew I couldn't breathe..." he admitted quietly.

"What do you mean?" Dan asked.

Kai shook his head.

"It's stupid...just forget about it..."

"It's not stupid...it's anxiety. It's rarely rational."

Kai turned his head to him finally.

"...He just seemed so persistent about me going to see him...and he knew about the abbey...I don't know...I just got a niggling feeling he was somehow connected to him...like maybe it was a set up to see if I'd talk...I know it's ridiculous...but it's just the kind of thing my grandfather would do."

Kai swallowed hard. He felt himself getting emotional. He turned his head away.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to freak out like that...so stupid..."

He put his head in his hands, mortified.

Dan reached over and grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't apologise. And will you stop saying you're stupid?"

Kai didn't look up from his hands.

"You wanna know how I knew you were having a panic attack?"

Kai lifted his head up, his eyes slightly damp.

Dan's eyes softened more. He'd never seen him cry. He wanted to stop what he was talking about and hug the kid. But knowing Kai, it best not to draw attention to it, so carried on.

"...My older brother served in the military. He got sent abroad...let's just say to somewhere you don't exactly go for a vacation...when he came back, he was a different guy. He became really withdrawn and angry. It wasn't until he had his first panic attack and scared the shit out of our mom that he finally agreed to get help. He had post-traumatic stress."

Kai listened.

"I may not know exactly you're going through and what you and my brother experienced are two very different things...but I do know what it does to you. I know it isn't your fault and you're not stupid. And I know you can't fix it alone...you need help...just not from this asshole."

Kai didn't answer again.

"You know...maybe the guy my brother went to see is still around here...I'll look in to it." Dan thought out loud to himself as he started the engine.

Kai let out a small smile slip.

As hard as the school councillor and the guy with the fancy degrees tried, they were no help to him. He didn't trust either of them as far as he could pick them up and throw them.

But his slightly eccentric loser of a music teacher? He found himself pouring his heart out to him...

Maybe he didn't hate him as much as he thought he did.

They arrived back at school. Dan told Kai to come with him to the teacher's room to get a note from him, excusing him for being late to class.

As they walked in to the busy teacher's room, it seemed like there was a hush.

Kai stiffened...he got the feeling they all knew where he went this morning...he avoided looking at them.

That was until...

"Hey, Kai!"

Kai turned around to meet a very annoyed looking Rei.

"Rei..."

"Can I talk to you?" he said bluntly.

"Sure?" Kai said, unsure why he looked so pissed.

Rei took his arm and pulled him out in to the hall. The other teachers watching them go.

Rei let go of his arm and shut the door. He turned back to him.

"Where do you get off pushing Mr. Harris!?" he hissed at him.

Kai frowned.

"How did you know about that?"

"It doesn't matter!" Rei snapped back, "what the hell are you playing at?! All the guy does is try and help you, and you go and do that?! The way you talk to him is bad enough sometimes, but actually putting your hands on him?! I can't believe you!"

Dan could hear the muffled, angry voice outside the door. He sighed and went to investigate. Rei giving Kai a talking to was usually something he welcomed, but not today...

"It does matter! Where did you hear that?" Kai demanded.

"Don't try and divert the conversation! Did you or did you not push him!?" Rei argued back.

The door opened just in time for Dan to hear the last part. He cursed the teachers. They must have talked about it in front of him.

Dan stepped out to mediate and shut the door behind him...he didn't want to give the other teachers any more to gossip about.

"Rei...with all due respect, that was between Kai and I and it's settled now..." Dan said, trying to be diplomatic.

Rei ignored him, too angry at his friend.

"You know, this whole temper thing of yours is getting out of hand! That's twice now you've been violent! First Giles, now Mr. Harris! You should have taken the shrink's evaluation the first time and not been so stubborn! Maybe this wouldn't have happened! I'm glad they're making you see someone before you really do something stupid!"

Kai's face dropped.

"...How do you know about all this?"

Rei realised in his own anger he'd slipped up...

Kai felt the familiar hot rage in his gut, he turned his glare to Dan.

"Is this what goes on in the teacher's room? You all have a good little gossip and a laugh at my expense?!" he growled.

Dan shook his head.

"No! That's not it at all..." he turned to Rei.

"How _did_ you know about that...?" he asked suspiciously. The first encouter with the school councillor wasn't common knowledge with the other staff.

The anger Rei was feeling turned to guilt and nerves. He had to come clean.

"I...looked in your homeroom file..." he admitted.

"You what?!" Dan exclaimed, both angry and disappointed.

Rei shifted his feet.

"You knocked it off your desk...I picked it up...I just wanted to see the stupid school picture. I didn't think that kind of information would be in there, I swear...that's how I knew it was Kai's birthday and that's how I knew there had been...talks."

He summoned enough courage to lift his eyes to meet Kai's.

He wished he hadn't.

He didn't look so much angry...he looked hurt. And that was worse.

"...Kai...I'm sorry."

Kai shook his head and looked from him to Dan.

"...I was right, wasn't I? You can't trust anyone but yourself..." he bit before turning and taking off down the hall.

Rei stepped forward, moving to go after him, but Dan put his arm in front of him.

"I wouldn't..." he said almost coldly. It wasn't a tone Rei was familiar with from him.

The bell went. The period was over.

"...I suggest we talk somewhere more private..." Dan said in the same cold voice, knowing students would be here any moment. He lead Rei to find an empty classroom.

Unfortunately, it was a precaution that they took a little too late.

Around the corner from the teacher's room, a smug, cruel grin crossed someone's face. They'd heard everything.

xxxxx

Kai returned to his room and slammed the door shut. He paced back and forth in his room. His blood boiling and his heart heavy.

Rei had gone behind his back? _Rei_?

If anyone knew how much privacy meant to him, it was him. He never thought Rei would do something like that. Read something so personal. That's how he knew when his birthday was? By snooping through his private records...? That wasn't the big problem here, but it still made him uncomfortable.

Even Kai hadn't seen that file. Why would he have? For Mr. Harris' eyes only presumably...who knew what it had written on there...it at least talked about being sent to a quack...

He could ask Rei...he knew exactly what was in there...he thought to himself sarcastically.

Oh, god. How could he have been so stupid!?

Rei was the one person he really trusted...up until now.

How could he have been such an idiot and let himself fall for him?! Or even just be friends with him?! He was just as bad as everyone else. Oh, how his dear old grandfather would be laughing right now if he knew...would probably laugh so hard, it'd bring on another heart attack...the people he'd turned his back on his grandfather for were now turning their back on him...

He let out a growl, trying to push back the tears forming at the corners of his eyes. He continued to pace, feeling restless. Like a pissed off lion in a cage.

Dan too. Fuck that guy! _Fuck_ him! Giving that big spiel about always being there for him, being there if he needed to talk...just so he could have something to laugh about with the other teachers...This whole time he'd just been the butt of his jokes.

How could he be so fucking stupid?! Of course he didn't give a shit about him! He was just a student, Dan was just a teacher...he had no other obligation other than to teach him music! How could he let himself think that he really cared for him?!

He sniffed and tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

He didn't want to cry. Especially not over them. This was his own fault for making himself too open to people.

He did it best to channel it back in to the only emotion he was comfortable with.

He sucked in air through his grit teeth and brought his arm back. He let out a violent growl and smashed his fist in to the wall.

It took a second before the pain started pulsing up through his hand.

He brought it back and shook his hand.

God, that hurt...

He looked at his hand. The skin across his knuckles were slightly scraped.

He obviously hadn't hit it hard enough.

He brought his arm back again and punched the wall a second time.

And then a third.

The third time, when he brought his hand away, there was a slight trace of blood on the wall.

That was more like it.

His throbbing hand had smears of blood from the scrapes on his knuckles.

This was the kind of pain he could handle.

He took himself to his bathroom and ran the water.

He winced as the warm water met his raw knuckles.

On the bright side, he told himself, this probably meant now he could go back to being left alone. No one to bug him any more...

That's what he wanted anyway...

To be left alone.

As he washed his hand, his vision blurred and his eyes stung.

...that's what he wanted anyway...

Wasn't it?

He bit his bottom lip.

He blinked and lifted his eyes to his mirror.

He stared at his reflection.

His eyes were slightly red and a few rogue tears were rolling down his face.

He frowned.

This is exactly what they were talking about in the abbey.

This is what people did to you.

They made you pathetic.

He grit his teeth again and looked down at his hand.

...How much worse would it be?

He brought his arm back again and slammed his fist in to the mirror. Destroying his reflection. His angry yell mixing with the sound of shattering.

He took a few deep breaths and pulled his shaking, abused hand away from the mirror. Now it was really bleeding.

Fuck it, he'd live.

He spent the next half an hour cleaning the cuts on his hand, using a tweezer to pull out some of the shards. He wrapped it in an old shirt.

He had a feeling Dan would probably come up and try and 'talk it out' later. He wasn't in the mood. He pushed his desk in front of the door. That would keep him out for tonight at least...

Maybe he just needed to get away. Leave this school, leave the people...go start again somewhere and not make the same mistakes again.

He flopped down in bed and got himself lost in his own head for the rest of the evening.

He had been right. Dan did come up to try and talk to him. He figured out pretty soon that he'd barricaded himself in his room.

Tonight wasn't the night.

Maybe it was better to let him cool off.

He'd get him tomorrow...he felt awful about all of this. He'd left feeling like he was a joke in the teacher's room. That just wasn't true...they did laugh at his antics sometimes, or make fun of Dan for having to deal with his attitude...but it was never anything malicious. Not like he was thinking.

Dan sighed.

He thought about all the progress Kai had made recently and now he was probably going to go right back to square one...

Dan psyched himself up...even if he did go back to how he was initially...he said he wasn't going to give up on him and he meant it.

That evening, he called his brother for the first time in about a year to ask about the details for the therapist he'd seen all those years ago.

He'd worked wonders for his brother...maybe he could do the same for Kai.

Rei lay on his bed with his face in his pillow.

He'd blown it.

Really blown it.

Kai wasn't a guy you got more than one chance with. Once you broke his trust, you were done.

All this because he couldn't just...put that file back on the desk unopened...

He just _had_ to go and look at it...invade his privacy.

What he did really hurt him.

Now he'd lost one of his closest friends.

Someone he really cared for...

There had to be some way to make this right...there just had to be.

He'd find a way to make it up to him.

It was a few hours after lights out. Slight footsteps pattered down the dark and empty school hall as a figure walked down it with a small flashlight.

He walked towards the trophy case.

He slowed his pace as he ran his eyes over the number of trophies and certificates won by previous alumni over the years. He reached the end and stopped. A nasty smirk cracking.

He pulled out the key and unlocked the glass door, sliding it open with a gloved hand.

He reached in and gently pulled out a large frame.

 _"Kai Hiwatari: Gold Medalist at the Beyblade World Championships."_ the plaque at the bottom of the frame read.

He ran his eyes over the headshot of the fiery student, a very faint smile on his face and a gold medal hanging round his neck.

He let out a snort as he set it flat on the ground, putting the flashlight in his mouth to hold it and pulling out a red marker.

He took the cap off and scribbled on the glass.

When he was done, he looked over his work. Satisfied, he put the cap back on the pen and carefully set the frame back where it had always been, sliding the glass shut again and locking it.

He stepped back and took a look at it behind the glass.

Big, red, scribbled letters ran diagonally across Kai's picture.

 _"PSYCHO"_

He snorted again, pleased with himself and quietly head back. Sneaking back to his room undetected.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

End of chapter!

Well, this was full of teenage angst and drama. 'Cause who doesn't love a bit of that?

And I wonder who was dick-ish enough to write that on his picture...hmm?

Wonder if Rei and Mr. Harris can make things right with Kai...we'll see next time!

I hope you enjoyed it! I'm going to do my best to get this and my other stories updates soon! I'm just writing when I have time and when I have enough ideas to make a chapter! Sorry if you're readers for my other stories that haven't been updated! I'll get to them!

Any comments appreciated as always!

Thanks for reading!


	9. To Err is Human

Hey all! Thanks for the comments! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!

It's taken a while for this chapter to come together, my apologies and I hope you enjoy it! I won't lie, this chapter may appear a little rushed, but I really wanted to wrap this part up in this chapter so I can move on with the story!

Let's see what our angsty guy is up to, shall we?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 9 – To Err Is Human.

Kai sat on the edge of his bed. Dressed in his uniform. His bag next to him, ready to go.

He just didn't want to.

He didn't want to see Mr. Harris.

He didn't want to see Rei.

He didn't want to see anyone.

Going to school would mean seeing all the above would be unavoidable.

But not going would prove that they'd gotten to him. That they'd hurt him.

And he was determined to show them otherwise.

He lifted his head and looked at the clock.

If he left it any longer he'd be late...

Now or never.

He took a breath and stood himself up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and heading out the door.

He walked down the halls, psyching himself to put on his game face in front of Mr. Harris...knowing him, he'd try really hard to have a heart-to-heart with him. He wasn't going to be doing that again...

As he head down the hall, he was surprised at how many students were around...they usually had to be in their seats by now.

He saw a crowd of students hanging around, staring at the trophy case, talking.

One of them spotted him and slapped a friend on the shoulder.

Soon they all noticed him and there was a deafening hush...

Kai frowned. What was their problem?

He kept walking, not liking that he was being stared at. They seemed to part like the red sea, making way for him as he approached them closer.

He glanced at the trophy case as he approached before double taking, noticing something scribbled over his picture.

" _PSYCHO"_

He stopped in his tracks as the word burned itself in to his eyes.

The other students didn't know where to look.

Kai felt his throat close up. Like someone had stolen the breath from him.

Humiliation set in as he remembered the crowd of students who had seen it and were stood around watching for his reaction.

He turned to walk away, wordless, despite wanting to smash his already messed up hand in to the glass case and cut someone with it.

Fuck them. Probably expecting him to lose his temper...Why give them a show?

As he took a few steps, Mr. Harris and Reuben came running towards them.

Dan and Kai's eyes met briefly before Reuben pointed the picture out to him.

Mr. Harris' stomach fell when he saw it...this meant someone overheard them yesterday...

Just what they needed...

He frowned at the large group of staring students.

"All right, get to class! Nothing to see here..." he barked sternly before the group instantly disbanded.

Mr. Harris looked around for Kai.

He caught his dark blue hair further down the hall, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the bag slung on his shoulder walking to class.

It was just him and Reuben, who'd seen it earlier and reported it to him.

"...Come on, Reub...let's go. Thank you for telling me."

Dan walked as fast as he could to try and catch up to Kai without running at him.

He wasn't that far behind him, but he'd gone in to the classroom before he could get to him.

Kai kept his head down as he walked in and head to his desk. Not looking at any of them. His face blank.

Giles gave a smug smirk as he saw him come in, his eyes following him as he went and sat at his desk, staring down at it.

Mr. Harris and Reuben came in a moment later.

Reuben shot Kai a sympathetic smile as he took his seat. He ignored it.

"Sorry about that, boys..." Mr. Harris said as he paced at the front of the class.

"Unfortunately...looks like we've had some offensive graffiti against a student...if anyone knows anything about it, I expect you to do the right thing and come to me..."

Kai kept his face blank, but felt himself get angry...

" _Don't draw attention to it...just let it go._

 _And stop pretending you care..."_ he thought to himself.

Mr. Harris felt furious...he had a feeling he knew who was responsible for it by the smug expression on a certain student's face...but until they could prove it, he had no choice but to carry on as normal.

The bell rang...he had to go.

"All right boys...have a good day. See you this afternoon..." he said, trying to sound as chipper as he always did and leaving the room just as the English teacher was coming in.

He stormed to the teachers room, throwing the door open.

He couldn't help but be angry at the staff...Rei told him he'd overheard them talking about Kai going to see a doctor in front of him. If they hadn't been so careless, this wouldn't have happened...

The staff room was almost full.

"I need to know exactly who has access to the trophy case." he barked.

The teachers looked up, shocked. It wasn't like Dan to be like this.

Dan's eyes scanned the room, waiting for someone to answer him.

"...That would be...the principle, janitor and the head of the student council..." Mr. Simmons piped up, "What's the matter?"

Dan felt his eyes narrow.

The head of the student council was called Andy Sachs.

One of Giles' best friends in the year above.

"There's been an incident. Someone defaced Kai's picture with something offensive. And I'm gonna find out who it was..."

Rei sat up as he heard Kai's name.

"Defaced it with what?" Rei asked.

"Go see yourself..." Dan said almost bluntly at him.

"And what class is Mr. Sachs in? I need a word with him..."

"2-3, I think..." Mr. Simmons answered back.

Mr. Harris left the room immediately.

Rei was soon behind him, wanting to know what he was talking about.

He head to the trophy case, his heart dropping as he saw the graffiti.

Someone must have heard him yelling at Kai...

This was all his fault...

He heard someone clear their throat, and turned to see a man who was clearly the janitor, motioning for him to get out the way.

Rei stood aside as the old man jingled a large ring of keys, flipping through them until he found the one he was looking for, unlocking the glass case and reaching in to remove the frame.

Rei hoped not many people had seen it...and hoped Kai hadn't seen it either.

Meanwhile, Kai sat at his empty desk. The others writing their essays silently as instructed. They were practicing for the upcoming exams.

Kai hadn't bothered to even open his bag. Why should he?

He just stared at his desk. Trying not to think about anything.

"Mr. Hiwatari?"

He looked up to see his annoyed English teacher.

"Is there a problem?" the teacher asked, looking down at his empty desk.

Kai stared blankly back.

The teacher waited for an answer.

"...any particular reason you're just sat not doing what I asked?" he pressed.

Kai's eyes narrowed.

The teacher huffed.

Another one of 'those' days.

"You have two choices, Hiwatari. Get your books out and do as I asked, or get to the teacher's room..." he threatened, hoping that would kick him in to gear.

Kai immediately stood up, taking his bag with him and walked quietly out the room, leaving his teacher a bit speechless that he'd called his threat.

Kai walked down the hall and let himself in to the teacher's room. Walking casually in and ignoring the heads lifting up from the desks, especially Rei's, as he went and sat down in his usual spot.

Rei stared. Class only started twenty minutes ago...what had he done _this_ time?

"Kai...?" he said cautiously.

Kai ignored him completely.

The door opened again, an angry looking Mr. Harris walking in, gently leading another boy in by the shoulder.

"Take a seat, Andy...Kai?" Mr Harris said, losing his angry expression to one of surprise.

Kai lifted his head to look at him before putting his head down again.

Dan was torn...he needed to talk to Andy about the picture...but he couldn't really do it in front of Kai.

"...Andy, wait outside a sec, will you?" he said.

The nervous looking black haired boy simply nodded and took his leave.

Mr. Harris slowly approached Kai.

"...Why have you been sent in here?" he asked calmly.

Kai didn't look up.

Dan waited.

" _Oh good...the silent treatment..."_ Dan thought to himself sarcastically.

He frowned as his eyes fell to Kai's hand, resting on his arm as he folded them.

It was covered in sore looking cuts.

"What happened to your hand!?" he asked, worried, but had an idea of what he'd done to it...probably punched something...

He moved forward, trying to take hold of it to take a look at it.

Kai flinched away violently, giving him a deathly look.

Dan sighed...after yesterday, he probably wasn't going to talk to him.

"I suggest you get the nurse to take a look at that..."

Kai shook his head.

"Let me rephrase that... _go_ and get the nurse to take a look at that...and stay there until I come get you." he said sternly.

He may want to work things out with Kai, but he was still his teacher.

Kai scowled at him before sharply standing himself up and taking himself out.

Dan let out a sigh...he wanted to go with him...but he had something to do first.

He went to the other door at the front of the teacher's room and opened it.

"Thanks, Andy...come on in."

The boy came in looking even more nervous.

Dan lead him to the table where Kai was moments ago and sat him down.

"So...we've had a bit of an unfortunate event this morning..." Dan began as he sat himself opposite him. Holding his eye contact with him.

Andy seemed to shit nervously in his seat.

"Someone opened the trophy case and wrote something not so nice on one of my students' pictures..."

Andy stared back, guilt already cracking on his face.

"...and it's come to my attention that you're the one who has the key to the trophy case..." Mr. Harris said a little too lightly.

Andy squirmed in his seat.

"Did you do this?" he asked. Holding up the picture.

Andy shook his head frantically.

"No, sir!"

"It wasn't you? Then who was it? Funny that you're the one with the key, but someone else let themselves in to it..."

Andy shifted in his seat again. Staying silent.

Dan put the picture down, not taking his eyes off him.

"Well...if you can't name names...we'll have no choice but to call your parents in...bullying like this, we usually dish out suspension...would be a shame to put that on your record, wouldn't it?" he threatened.

"It was Giles!" Andy blurted out instantly.

Dan was a little stunned...was that all it was going to take?

"Giles?"

Andy sighed.

"He asked for the key...he said he was pulling a prank on Kai...I didn't know that's what he'd do."

he admitted, avoiding eye contact with him.

"You were fine with him doing something to Kai though?" Dan asked.

"He's hated Kai since he started here...I thought it was just going to be something harmless..."

Dan sighed.

"Fine...back to class, Andy...we'll talk about this later."

Andy instantly got up and left, as he was told.

Dan had someone else to deal with...and some calls to make.

Kai stayed silently in the nurse's room like he'd been told, hand properly cleaned and bandaged, waiting for someone to come and scold him.

It had been almost two hours. So far, no one had come.

And he was just fine with that.

It was almost third period.

Half way through the day.

He turned his head as the door opened and Mr. Harris walked in. He smiled softly. Kai didn't return it.

His smile fell, but beckoned him to follow him.

Kai heaved himself up from the chair and walked behind him.

He frowned as they approached the principles office.

For god's sake...really? The principle's office for _this_?

As the heavy door opened, his frown deepend as he was lead in, greeted by said principle, Mr. Dickinson and Giles sniveling beside a tall, stern looking blonde man. Clearly his father.

"Take a seat, Mr. Hiwatari..." the principle instructed.

He sat. Folding his arms and closing his eyes. Mr Harris sitting between him and Giles.

"We've found the culprit of our little graffiti incident..." the principle said icily, shooting a look at Giles.

Kai's eyes opened and glared at the classmate next to him. He knew damn well it had been him.

"Considering the history between you two...we've decided to talk this out like adults..."

"What is there to discuss?! He's the one at fault here..." Giles' father barked. Also turning and glaring at his son.

"I can't believe I had to leave work and come all the way down here because you did something so _petty_..."

Giles seemed to shrink in his seat.

"I put you through the best schools and education this country has to offer and what do you have to show for it? Below average grades and a need to pick on those better than you!"

Kai frowned and turned to them.

"Sometimes I really don't know why I bother with you, Giles..you've never excelled at anything...and I'm ashamed to say I can't tell if its because you're too lazy or just too _useless_."his father spat.

Kai continued to watch Giles' father lay in to him...he felt strange.

He should have been enjoying every second of this. Giles was a dick to him and had been since they started school. Kai disliked him just as much. He was finally getting what he deserved, and his 'daddy' that Giles just loved to harp on about apparently thought his son was an idiot, too.

But he wasn't enjoying this...

Something about how his father was talking to him actually made him feel...sorry for him. This could well have been just his dad saying things to scold him...but it didn't sound like it. Judging by the look on Giles' face, too, this was how his dad talked to him.

...and it sounded all too familiar to Kai.

" _You're useless! All this training I've put you through and you're still losing matches!? How are you still so weak?! Perhaps I need to tell Boris to be more harsh with you..."_

"...this is just another thing to add to the _long_ list of disappointments..." his father said. His voice cutting.

Kai felt his heart sink.

That one sounded _really_ familiar.

" _The only thing you're good at is disappointing me!"_

Mr. Harris cleared his throat.

"Let's get back to the issue at hand here..." he said, trying to divert the awkwardness.

"Agreed..." said the principle, "Giles, what you did was bullying and completely unacceptable. We have no place for that kind of thing at this school...I insist you apologise to Mr. Hiwatari right now."

Kai tensed, wondering what Giles would do. He'd _never_ apologise. And even if he did, Kai wasn't interested.

"...I'm sorry, Kai.", Giles said almost weakly.

Kai's eyes narrowed. That was easy...

That was also pathetic.

And insincere.

"Good. Now...we must also discuss the punishment for your actions...it is the school's policy that acts of bullying like this results in at least a week's suspension..."

Kai wasn't looking at Giles. But he could feel the dread coming from him.

He heard his father tut.

"...I can't believe you're my son..." he said quietly...but just loud enough for them to hear.

Kai's heart fell further.

" _I'm ashamed to call you my grandson!"_ echoed in his head.

The principle turned to Kai and Mr. Dickinson.

"Do you find this satisfactory as punishment?" he asked them.

Mr. Dickinson sat up in his seat, looking angry.

"Absolutely. Sounds fair in my book..." he said in an icy tone rarly heard in the usually calm and happy old man.

Kai felt something stir in him as he kept his head down. He was torn.

Of course he wanted Giles' to pay for what he did...and for all the other crappy things he'd done to him.

But something...didn't feel right.

"Very well...that's settled..." the principle nodded firmly, "Giles, from today you are to serve out one week of suspen-"

"Wait!"

The five people in the room instantly turned their head to Kai.

Kai let out a sigh.

" _I can't believe I'm doing this..."_

"I'm not happy with that..."

Giles glared...was he going to ask for more than a week?

"Oh?" the principle inquired, raising a brow, " And what would be a better alternative for you, Mr. Hiwatari?"

"Just give him detention today or something...or replace the frame. Better yet, take that damn picture down all together. I hate it."

Giles frowned, confused.

"Language Kai..." Mr. Harris whispered to him, embarassed. He was talking to the principle after all...

Kai ignored him.

The principle sighed.

"We're not taking the picture down. Your achievements have brought great pride to this school..."

"...Would be nice to know what _that_ feels like..." Giles' dad spat bitterly.

Kai snapped his head at him and glared. His dad seemed taken aback by the power of it.

"You're saying you feel suspension is too severe?" the principle asked, getting back to the real issue.

Kai turned his head back to the principle.

"It is a bit much don't you think? All he did was write on a picture I hate anyway...I couldn't really care less, he apologised, maybe throw him a detention for being an asshole and be done with it."

Mr. Harris cringed and brought his palm to his face...

" _Language._..." he squeaked out.

Giles continued to look at Kai quizically.

The principle also looked at him quizically.

"...if you're sure about that, Kai..?"

Kai nodded.

"In that case...Giles, you're very lucky. You're to replace the frame you defaced and serve out three evenings of detention. Are we all in agreement?" he said, looking back at Kai.

Kai had said one detention...but whatever. He nodded.

The meeting ended and Giles' father got up and left without so much as looking at his sheepish looking son.

Kai followed suit, getting up and walking out.

Giles watched him go before growling slightly and chasing after him. He caught up with him in the hall.

"Hey! Kai!"

Kai stopped and turned, face hard.

"You mind telling me what the hell that was about?!"

Kai smirked.

"Funny way to talk to someone who just got you out of a weeks suspension..."

Giles growled angrily.

"I don't need _you_ to save me, Kai! What? You think now that you've done this we'll be buddies or something?"

Kai scoffed.

"Don't flatter yourself...you're a dick and I want nothing to do with you."

Giles' looked confused.

"Then why did you do that?"

Kai sighed.

"...I can't stand you, Giles. You're everything I hate in a person..."

Giles waited.

"But as it turns out...we actually have something in common...I understand what that feels like. Don't expect it to happen again..."

Giles frowned.

"What the hell are you talking about?! We have _nothing_ in common!"

Kai's smirk turned to a faint, almost sad smile.

"...nothing we do is ever good enough, is it?"

Giles' frown disappeared as he watched Kai instantly turn and walk off.

" _Kai...?"_

 _xxxxx_

 _Giles arrived at his stately home for the weekend. He'd started school only a few weeks ago, but had returned home to go to a family friend's wedding._

 _He walked in the front door as his butler carried his bag behind him._

" _Mother! Father! I'm home!" he called through the enormous house._

 _His mother appeared in the doorway looking anxious._

" _Welcome home darling...your father would like to speak with you right away..."_

 _Giles' felt his stomach drop._

 _He took a breath and immediately went to the kitchen...knowing his father was not a man you kept waiting._

 _His tall, stern father sat at the kitchen table with the newspaper._

" _Father...you wanted to see me, sir?" Giles said nervously._

 _His father looked up sternly as he huffed and slammed the paper down on the table._

" _We received your test scores..." he said bluntly._

 _Giles felt a cold shudder go down his spine._

" _62% in math? 59% in French? A measley 70% in English?"_

 _Giles hung his head._

" _Come here, boy..."_

 _Giles obediently stepped towards his father._

 _His father opened the paper and stabbed a picture with his finger._

" _He's in your class, isn't he?" he barked._

 _Giles looked at the picture. It was a picture of the Bladebreakers. They'd just won gold at the world championships. His father's finger was pointing at Kai Hiwatari, the weird, quiet kid in his class._

" _Yes, sir."_

 _His father reached in to his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper._

" _Your test scores also gave the ranking for the top five students in your class..." he said as he laid it out on the table._

 _He stabbed the paper again._

 _Giles followed his finger._

" _Number 1: Kai Hiwatari."_

" _This boy has to train rigourously as well as study and he still manages to win gold and be top of the class...are you not somewhat embarassed? What's your excuse for such a shabby performance?"_

" _I..." Giles began, speechless._

 _His father held his hand up._

" _There is no excuse...you were below satisfactory at junior high school...it should come as no surprise that high school would be equally as unsatisfactory..."_

 _Giles felt his eyes start to brim._

 _His father looked at the picture in the newspaper again._

" _I bet his father is proud of him...I wonder what that feels like..." he said harshly before setting the paper down and walking out, not looking at his son again._

 _Giles was left stood there. Feeling ashamed, humiliated and rejected._

 _His eyes fell on the table to where the newspaper was._

 _His classmates' picture seemed to be mocking him._

 _He clenched his fists and let out a growl before grabbing the page, ripping it out the paper and tearing it up._

 _xxxxxxxx_

Giles stayed still for a minute. He'd always assumed everyone kissed Kai's ass. Including his family. Why wouldn't they? He was so... _perfect.._.

Kai head back to his room. He didn't want to be around anyone again today. That was enough. He didn't care if he got in trouble for it.

He slumped on his bed.

Yet another day of drama in this godforesaken place.

He lay there brooding for a short while before there was a knock at his door.

He huffed...probably Mr. Harris...

He had no intention of talking to him, so he ignored it.

There was another knock.

" _Kai? I know you're in there..."_ a voice came through the door.

Kai sat up.

That was Mr. Dickinson's voice.

He pulled himself off the bed and went to answer the door.

The jolly old man stood smiling at him.

"Mind if I come in?" he asked politely.

Kai blinked before nodding and letting him in. The old man sat himself on the edge of Kai's bed, his hands on top of his cane between his legs.

"Come sit down, Kai." he instructed softly.

Kai fought an eye roll as he did as he was told, wondering what lecture he was going to get.

"I thought what you did today was very mature...that boy did something very mean spirited and cruel and you still found it in you to be the bigger man and forgive him..."

"Hn." Kai said, folding his arms and scowling.

Mr. Dickinson cracked a small smile at his familiar, grumpy habit.

"Speaking of forgiveness...I sat down with Mr. Harris before our meeting with the principle. He had a lot to fill me in on..."

Kai stiffened...what had that jerk gone and told him now?

"He told me about the incident at the psychologists...and the other unfortunate disagreement you had with Mr. Harris and Rei."

Kai tensed even harder...of course he told on him...make him out to be the bad guy in the situation.

"First of all, I'm sorry to hear your session with the doctor went the way it did...I feel awful that we sent you to such a poor excuse for a psychologists...and the stress that caused you..."

Kai felt the tension mix in with embarassment.

He must have told him about his panic attack.

"Mr. Harris tells me he got hold of another more suitable psychologist that once treated his brother for similar issues...I hope you'll comply and give him a shot and not let that other fellow discourage you."

"I don't want anything from _him_!" Kai spat out quickly and angrily.

Mr. Dickinson was startled by the sudden angry burst, but quickly recomposed himself.

"...and that brings me nicely to the next issue..."

Kai frowned and turned to him.

"I hear that you had an argument with both Mr. Harris and Rei...to whom you're now refusing to talk to."

A growl rumbled out his throat.

"They both went behind my back! I have nothing to say to either of them! Mr. Harris I'll comply with since he's my teacher and I have no choice, but that's it! As for Rei...we're done!"

His anger sounded pained at the last part of that speech.

"And just how did they go behind your back?" Mr. Dickinson asked.

Another growl.

"Mr. Harris lied about caring about me...he really just used me so he had something to talk about with the other idiot teachers here...and Rei went through my file and read my personal information!"

Mr. Dickinson let out a laugh.

Kai looked at him, puzzled. What the hell was funny about this?!

"You really are so eager to believe people are against you, aren't you?"

Kai scowled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, my boy, that you've gone and got yourself all worked up and angry at two people who really care about you because you're afraid to get close to them and have been looking for an excuse to back up your fears."

Kai rolled his eyes. Apparently everyone was a freakin' psychologist now.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me! You know it's true." Mr. Dickinson said firmly.

"I talked to both Mr. Harris and Rei for their side of things...I knew instantly you had over reacted."

"Me!?" Kai yelled defensively.

Typical...he was the bad guy... _again_.

"Yes, you. Of course Mr. Harris talks to the other teachers about you. You're a student with issues. They're the 's not the only teacher that has difficulties with you. Of course they discuss it! And it's not like you never cause a scene in the teacher's room from what I hear...But what makes you think they're laughing at you?

"I..." Kai started defensively...only to have no argument.

He didn't have proof that they were...he just assumed.

Mr. Dickinson smirked, knowing full well he didn't have an answer, so moved on.

"As for Rei...admittedly he was wrong to look at your file...that is private information and he shouldn't have opened it."

Kai felt relieved. Finally he agreed with him about something.

"...but do you really think Rei. Rei Kon. Would purposefully seek out personal and sensitive information about you to use in a malicious way?"

Kai's angry expression fell.

No...no he wouldnt...

"People make mistakes, Kai. You of all people should know that."

Kai frowned at him again and turned his head to meet the old man's almost sly gaze.

"You know what I'm talking about...I have no intention of drudging up the past...but there was a certain incident in Russia where you made a mistake..."

Kai cringed.

He just _had_ to bring that up.

He was never going to live that down...

Mr. Dickinson felt him reacting to that.

"It's not my intention to make you feel bad about it...it's just to make you see. You turned your back on your team. They were devastated that you switched sides on them...had they taken your approach to matters, that would have been the end of your friendship and who knows what would have happened..."

Kai felt himself sink.

"...but they didn't give up on you, despite the betrayal. You thankfully saw sense in the end and they took you back, leading you to triumph. But I wonder...did you worry they wouldn't forgive you at any point?"

Kai tensed again and slowly nodded his head.

"Aren't you glad they did?"

Kai felt himself flush a little at having to admit such a thing, he nodded his head again.

"To err is human, Kai...to forgive divine..."

Kai sighed.

"...if Rei can forgive you for something as severe as abandoning the team...do you not think you can find it in your heart to forgive him for looking in your file?"

Kai felt guilty.

When he put it like that, what Rei had done was actually pretty trivial...

It had felt like such a betrayal...he hadn't stopped to think about it like that.

"...I guess..."

"Marvellous! Let's put this unpleasantness to bed, shall we?" the old man said, suddently back to his usually happy self as he pulled himself up and opened the door, pulling Rei in. Mr. Harris followed behind.

Kai froze.

He meant here?!

Right now?!

Mr. Harris stood in front of him.

Mr Dickinson cleared his throat. Kai glanced at him, and the old man gestured for him to stand up too. Do this properly.

He huffed and stood up, arms still folded.

"Kai...I know you felt like I was gossiping about you with the other teachers. But that just isn't the case. We talk about you on a professional basis only...you're not a topic of amusement for us. But I'm sorry if I ever gave you that impression."

Kai squirmed, uncomfortable with this type of thing.

"It's fine..." he huffed.

"And everything I've said to you...about things...I meant it. I am here for you."

Kai felt his face burn. It was one thing when he said it to him in private. But there was an audience.

"All right already, I _said_ it's fine..." he snapped.

Mr. Harris smirked.

"Soooo...we're good? You're gonna stop giving me the silent treatment?"

"We're good, just...leave it at that..." he said, flushing a little harder.

Mr. Harris nodded and went to stand next to Mr. Dickinson.

Now for the big one.

Kai almost hunched over in awkwardness as Rei nervously stepped in front of him.

Rei rubbed his arm, not knowing where to look. He finally brought his eyes up to meet Kai's.

He looked riddled with guilt.

"...Kai, what I did was wrong...I shouldn't have looked. I broke your trust...I just want you to know it wasn't my intention to find out those things...I just wanted to see your school picture out of curiosity and it was there and..."

"It's fine, Rei..." he said quietly.

"I'm really sorry, Kai! I don't want to lose you as a friend because I did something stupid!" Rei continued to ramble on, apparently not hearing him. He opened his mouth again to go on more, but Kai cut him off.

"Rei!"

Rei shut his mouth.

"I said it's fine..."

Rei beamed.

"You mean you forgive me? We can go back to normal?"

"...Yeh."

Rei wanted to burst. He'd been so worried about this whole thing he'd felt sick. He really thought Kai was done with him.

In a moment of blissful relief, Rei jumped forward and wrapped his arms around him. Squeezing him tight.

"Thanks, Kai! I promise I'll never do anything like that again!" he grinned as he squeezed him.

Kai's eyes went wide as he unconciously held his breath. His hands straight down by his sides and begging his face to stop flushing. It was burning.

Mr. Dickinson and Mr. Harris beamed at the reconcilliation between the two friends.

Mr. Harris couldn't help but smirk and hold back a laugh at how awkward Kai was about Rei's hug...and how glowing red his face was...awwww...he bet his heart was pounding right now.

He cleared his throat to get his attention and Kai's eyes glanced over in an begging expression Dan read as _'please don't say anything...'_

Dan raised a sly brow, unable to help himself and made a hugging motion with his arms, telling him to hug him back.

Kai's face only turned a darker red.

His arm hesitated before he brought one up and gently put it on Rei's back.

It pulled them closer.

Kai suddenly felt like a swarm of butterflies were in his stomach.

He cleared his own throat and gently pulled away, breaking the hug and keeping his head down to hide his burning face.

"Well, now that's all settled, I shall take my leave..." Mr. Dickinson announced, before smiling at Kai and Rei.

"I look forward to seeing you boys at the tournament next week."

"Thanks, Mr. D!" Rei beamed.

Mr. Harris looked at his watch.

"Oh...I have to go to choir practice..." he looked up hopefully at Kai.

"Are you...?"

Kai rolled his eyes.

"Yeh...I'm coming..."

The four of them left Kai's room. The air feeling much clearer.

Mr. Dickinson took his leave, Rei went back to his room and Mr. Harris and Kai walked together down to the music room.

"I have to ask, Kai...why did you stick up for Giles? I would have thought you would be happy to see him get suspended..."

Kai gripped his bag tighter.

There was a moment of silence.

"...because of his dad."

"Hm?" Dan asked, confused.

"His dad is a real jerk...talks to him like he's worthless. I may not like him and what he did was shitty, but I know how that feels...I didn't want to give that asshole any more ammunition to use against him."

Dan beamed with pride.

"...That's really big of you, Kai. I'm proud of you."

"Hn..."

There was an awkward silence.

"...So..." Mr. Harris said slyly, unable to help himself.

Kai turned his head to him.

"...How much did you love that hug?"

Kai's face instantly went scarlett.

"Shut up!" he yelled almost high pitched,"Unless you want me to go back to hating you!"

Mr. Harris laughed uncontrollably.

"Come on, it's me...you knew damn well I was gonna rib you for it."

"You need to get a hobby...loser..." Kai spat back, face still burning as they approached the music room.

" _Well...everything is back to normal..."_ Mr. Harris laughed to himself in his head.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

End of chapter 9! Hope you enjoyed it!

Ahhh forgiveness...

Ending on some fluff.

But will Giles be cool with Kai from now on?

We'll have to wait and see!

I know the whole reconciliation between everyone was very quick and almost easy...but I didn't want to drag it on and really wanted to wrap this particular part up so I can move on to the next! Hope y'all don't mind.

Thanks for reading! Any comments would be appreciated!

See you next time!


	10. The Tournament

Hello nice people!

Thanks for all those who left comments and those who are still reading!

This chapter has a lot of beyblade battles in it...which I will admit...I suck at writing and personally don't enjoy reading myself. Unfortunately necessary for this chapter I had in mind. I probably won't go in to huge detail of the battles just to save you from the boredom of badly written matches. I'll just summarize them and you guys can use your imagination. Probably better that way lol. But just to let you know the vagueness is kind of done on purpose.

Hope you enjoy! (Little warning...it's a long chapter...)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 10 – The Tournament.

The long awaited tournament was finally apon them.

After smashing their way through the semi finals, the Bladebreakers were once again facing off against the last team standing in the finals.

It wasn't all good news though...

Max had come down with a high fever the night before, and was forced to sit out today's finals.

Which meant it was all up to Tyson, Rei and Kai to defend their team's title.

They knew they had their work cut out for them, too...

The team they were going up against were a new and upcoming team, _The Stingers_.

Despite the 'stupid name', as Tyson put it, they were no pushovers. They'd destroyed their competition on the way to the finals.

The Stingers consisted of four brutish looking guys a little older than them.

The captain called himself 'Spider'.

Then there was Tito, Donny, and Joey.

The four of them had bit-beasts that were insects. Hence the name.

The pairings were set.

"Good morning Beyblade fans! I'm AJ Topper..."

"And I'm Braaadddd Best! Coming to you live from the Bey City Stadium!"

"The pairings for the final match between The Stingers and The Bladebreakers have finally been decided! Let's see if the Bladebreakers can keep their reigning title...or if they'll be passing the torch over to the Stingers!"

DJ Jazzman danced his way in to the spotlight, being extra as usual.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Are you ready for the FINAAAAAAAAAALS!?" he yelled in to the mic.

The crowd errupted in the stadium.

In the crowd, Mr. Harris felt himself tingle with excitement. Not just because of the electric atmosphere...but because he finally was going to see his boy in action.

Kai had bluntly demanded he not come. He didn't want his _teacher_ there.

...So he got himself a ticket...courtesy of Mr. Dickinson. Which meant they got excellent seats at the railing closest to all the action.

"This sure is exciting!" he almost squealed, "I've never seen a beyblade match before! Only a little on TV!"

"Me either!" Reuben said, sounding just as excited.

…Mr. Harris may have also gotten some of his homeroom students to come along, too...to support their classmate. It was a Saturday, after all. So why not?

Only a few...Just Reuben, Scotty and few others who were interested in finally seeing their pro classmate in action.

Not that Kai knew they were there...

DJ Jazzman took a deep inhale before bellowing in to the mic again.

"Let's get this party STARTEEED! First up...from the Stingers...please give it up for TIITOOOOO!"

The crowd burst in to cheers again as a rugged looking guy in his late teens stepped up to the dish. Ripped jeans, flaming red t-shirt and spikey black hair.

"Tito and his bit-beast Invicta have really been putting their opponents through the ringer this tournament...a fiery blader teamed with his fire-ant bit-beast means they are hot stuff..." AJ announced.

"And from the Bladebreakers...give it up for the one and only KAAAIIII!" Jazzman yelled as Kai stepped up to the dish.

"Tito and Invicta may be hot stuff...but they haven't met Kai and his bit-beast Dranzer yet...and while Tito may be firey, Kai's well known iciness could well put that fire out..."

"...And then...set fire to him again with his also fire-based bit-beast."

"...Right."

Kai stepped up to the dish. Mr. Harris squirmed uncontrollably in his seat.

He looked so... _cool_ with his blue warpaint and flowing scarf. It wasn't often he saw him out of his school uniform.

He'd told himself before coming to just be cool and keep a low profile.

The atmosphere was taking hold of him though.

"GO KAAAAIII!" He yelled as he near enough leaned over the railing with his fist in the air.

Meanwhile, Tyson and Rei were cheering him on, too.

"Get 'im, Kai!" Rei called out.

"Yeh! Squish that buggy little creep!"

"Bladddeeersssss...readyyyy?!"

Tito and Kai assumed the position.

" _Three...two...one...let it riiiiiiiiiip!"_

The two yanked their rip cords and their blades flew in to the dish, crashing in to each other and flames immediately roaring.

Mr. Harris watched the whole thing open mouthed. Almost unable to blink.

He'd heard Kai was a strong player, and of course he was skilled, he was on the world class team...

but seeing it in the flesh made it all the more incredible.

This Tito guy was no weakling either.

They two went at each other, walls of flames jetting up before a blinding flash of light.

A giant, ferocious looking ant appeared, glowing red. Its pincer like mouth snapping open and closed as it shrieked.

Mr. Harris' face fell almost in terror at the humongus, monstrous insect.

Tito let out a smug laugh.

"Ready to get _stung_ , Kai?"

Kai did what he did best.

Smirk.

And say nothing.

"...Dranzer! Now!"

With an equally blinding flash of light, the mighty phoenix rose from the blade, spreading her magnificent wings and flapping.

Mr. Harris' jaw dropped further.

Bursts of flames continued to engulf the dish and the surrounding area as they fought. The stadium started to heat up.

Tito was getting annoyed.

"Uurrghhhh...Invicta! Acid-Spit Attack!" he yelled.

Kai's smirk grew.

"...You know what to do, Dranzer."

Kai had noticed while watching previous matches that this was Invicta's strongest attack...but it also came at a price. There was a short window where it had to recover from spewing out the acid. Which meant missing could be fatal. Tito probably knew not to break this move out unless it was absolutely necessary...and that suggested he was running out of cards to play.

Kai, on the other hand...still had a full deck.

The ant lunged, vice like mouth trying to grab hold of Dranzer, having no success. Invicta began shooting acid from it's mouth...but his opponent was airborne.

She dodged easily and waited out Invicta's attack.

Kai waited, too.

There was his chance.

"Now, Dranzer!" he yelled.

The phoenix flew up, her beautiful feathers transforming into ferocious flames before pile driving down in to Invicta. There was an almost explosive bang and shockwave of flames.

The smoke cleared.

Kai's blade was still spinning...

Tito's was not.

" _And the winner is KAAAIII!"_

The crowd went wild.

But none more so than Mr. Harris. His students sinking in to their seats, embarassed as their teacher behaved like a crazed fangirl.

Round two, however, wasn't so victorious.

Invicta managed to lunge and grab hold of Dranzer's talon before she could fly out the way, Tito taking his chance to use his Acid-Spit attack.

Dranzer let out a shriek of agony. She went down.

Round two ended in a loss for Kai.

Rei, Tyson, Dan and the students were on the edge of their seats.

It all came down to the third round.

Kai's focus sharpened, knowing this was the decider...he didn't know how much damage the acid attack had done to her.

But he wasn't going to be beaten by some creep and his _ant_.

They launched for the last time. Blades slamming in to each other and the sound of grinding metal.

Once again, Tito was quick to bring out Invicta. Feeling cocky after his win the previous round.

Kai bided his time, going on the defensive while Invicta went at him relentlessly

Luckily his idea worked.

Invicta seemed to be slightly running out of steam.

Now was his chance.

" _Dranzer!"_ he yelled.

The phoenix once again rose powerfully from the blade, immediately burning red and orange.

" _Fire Arrow!"_ he commanded.

Spears of blazing flame shot down, plunging in to Invicta.

Her attack was too much for the other to handle, with a flash of white light and a pained shriek, the light diminished as the fire-ant returned to the wobbling blade, which slowed and toppled.

"And the winner of the first stage is KAI!"

Mr. Harris was jumping like a mad man, grabbing Reuben beside him and shaking him.

"HE WON! HE WON! ATTA BOY, KAI!"

Kai returned to the bench.

"Next up for the second round. From the Stingers...DONNNYYY!"

"Donny has also been piercing their way through this tournament. Donny's hornet bit-beast Vespa and it's lethal sting are not something you want to be the wrong side of." Brad informed.

"And from the Bladebreakers...TYSOOONNN!"

"Tyson and Dragoon aren't something you wanna be on the wrong side of either. They have been keeping viewers on the edge of their seats three tournaments in a row...can he make it a fourth?" came AJ, "...Who doesn't _love_ Tyson?"

"Probably that guy going against him..."

The first round ended in a quick victory for Tyson, as Dragoon caught Vespa off guard and sent his blade flying.

...Donny didn't take it kindly.

As they launched for round 2, he was quick to bring out his hornet, Vespa. And even quicker to throw out his Deadly Sting attack...

It got Dragoon on his side and paralyzed him.

He was toast within three minutes. Giving Donny his revenge for his fast defeat in the first round.

Tyson stared wide eyed in disbelief as his blade landed at his feet, motionless.

It all came to the last round.

The blades made impact and Tyson summoned Dragoon...only to find he was still damaged from the previous battle. His moves weren't as fast or powerful.

Vespa went for the kill and crashed into him with everything he had.

It was game over.

The second stage went to Donny of the Stingers.

Mr. Harris was speechless. He couldn't believe Tyson lost. And now it all came down to the last stage.

Tyson picked up his blade and kept his head down in disappointment as he walked back to his team.

He'd let them down.

"I'm sorry guys..." he said, ashamed.

"It was just unfortunate, Tyson. Once he'd stung you, there was nothing you could do. Don't beat yourself up about it." Kai said plainly.

Tyson's face dropped in surprise...he was expecting a chewing out for getting stung in the first place from Kai...this was new.

"Yeh, don't sweat it, Tyson! I'll beat the crap out of Spider and we'll still keep the title!" Rei said cockily.

It was all up to Rei now...

Kai felt a shudder of worry.

The last stage was Spider vs. Rei...

Spider was the strongest of all of them...

And if Tyson lost to Donny so badly...

He frowned and slapped himself mentally.

" _Have faith in him! This is Rei we're talking about! He's just as tough as that guy and more skilled! He can do this!"_

Rei stood up.

"...You've got this, Rei." Kai said confidently.

Rei turned back to him and smiled.

One sentence from the right person settled his nerves in an instant.

He walked to the dish. Feeling determined.

"YOU CAN DO IT REI!" Mr. Harris screamed from the stands.

Spider was stood on the opposite end.

He was dressed all in black. A red vertical stripe down the middle of his shirt.

"Spider has been the one to watch out for this whole tournament. His Black Widow bit-beast Latrodex has been lethal to every single opponent who has faced her this tournament...Rei better watch his back."

"Rei's no push-over either though, AJ. He gets better every time he fights, this tournament has been no exception. He and Driger definitely won't be going down without a fight..."

They assumed the position...

"3...2...1...LET IT RIIIIP!"

They pulled their ripcords. Their blades swirling around the dish parallell to each other for a while, feeling each other out.

Driger finally made a move and slammed in to him, the two blades pushing against each other violently. Neither willing to budge.

This was going on a little too long for Spider's liking.

He growled.

" _Latrodex!_ " he cried out.

His blade glowed red. Out from the chip, an enormous black widow spider rose. All black bar a deadly siren red marking on her abdomen. Her eight legs stomping, eight beady eyes glaring and fangs bared.

Rei couldn't help but feel intimidated.

Neither could any of them.

Even Kai. He'd never seen a bit-beast quite like this one.

" _Driger!_ " Rei called, summoning his own beast. The glorious tiger roared out of the middle of Rei's blade, displaying his own power.

Kai watched intently...what was the best way to beat him?

If Rei attacked from the front, he risked getting bitten.

If he attacked from the back, he risked getting caught in her web...

Rei was thinking exactly the same thing...he played it safe while he thought and kept on the defensive.

Spider soon became bored of him playing it safe.

"Latrodex! Silk-Thread attack!

His beast obeyed and shot glistening white web at Driger. The powerful tiger was dodged the stream of web.

Spider looked put off.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Rei mocked.

"Driger! Tiger Claw!"

The tiger lunged at the Black Widow.

"Latrodex! Arachno-attack!"

The spider used her many legs to attack him from several points at once.

They collided.

The power of the collision sent both their wielders flying back, landing on their backs just outside the dish.

Kai got up from his seat, wanting to see if Rei was all right.

The two rivals sat up.

Spider's blade had stopped. Rei's was still wobbling in the dish before it toppled over.

"...The first round goes to...REI!" Jazzman announced.

"Well, AJ. Looks like Rei's the one to break Spider's perfect record! Can he do it again and take the win?"

"Let's watch and find out, Brad! Judging by the look on Spider's face, Rei's going to have give it everything he's got."

Spider looked menacing as he reapproached the dish.

Rei had, as Brad said, beaten his flawless record...

But it wasn't going to happen again.

Rei picked himself back up and went up for round two.

They launched.

Rei felt more confident and went more on the offensive. Exactly what Spider was hoping for. More opportunity for Latrodex to ensnare him in her web and take him down.

"TIGER CLAW!" Rei cried out, Driger getting ready to pounce.

Spider let out an evil grin.

"Latrodex! Silk-Thread attack!"

The Black Widow turned and shot white, glistening steams of web as the tiger leapt, entangling him mid leap. His attack failed and he crashed to the ground.

The tiger struggled, unable to get free.

Rei felt himself start to sweat.

Latrodex eight legs stomped towards him, preparing for the kill.

Rei growled, tensing up and summoning every ounce of strength he had.

"Fight, Driger!"

The beast thrashed as powerfully as he could against his restraints.

Spider's demonic grin grew larger.

"Hey Latrodex..."

The Black Widow's attention went to his master.

"...Venom-Bite..."

Rei shuddered as the Black Widow's fangs bared and dripped, raising herself up before slamming down and sinking them in to Driger. The large cat roaring out in agony at the sharp pain.

"Driger!" Rei called out to him.

The tiger seemed to convulse.

"Your poor little kitty is in a world of pain, Rei..."

Rei looked up at him and glared.

"So I'll do the right thing and put him out his misery...Now, Latrodex! Arachno-attack!"

Latrodex's legs went in to a frenzy as they slammed in to the helpless tiger with a force Rei hadn't experienced before.

With every blow, Rei was hit, too.

He cried out as he felt the impact on his limbs, his body getting knocked around as much as Driger was around the dish.

" _Rei!"_ Kai gasped and felt himself get up. He couldn't intervene...but he had to think of something.

With one final, almighty blow, a shock-wave sent both Driger and Rei hurtling back, throwing them both out the dish.

Rei yelled out as his body was propelled high in to the air, his body flailed as it became almost airborne.

He tried to position his body to land on his feet, as cats did.

His feet made contact with the ground.

 _SNAP._

He let out an agonising cry as his left foot landed awkwardly and cracked.

He collapsed to the ground. His blade landing beside him.

Mr. Harris and the others hung over the side, dumbstruck, trying to see if Rei was all right.

" _And the winner of round two is SPIDER!"_

The applause from the crowd became white noise to Kai as he saw Rei hit the ground.

He instantly ran to him, kneeling down at his side.

"Rei!?"

Rei panted on the floor. He was hurt. His body had taken multiple blows and he was pretty sure something was broken.

"...Sorry, Kai..." he said breathlessly.

"Don't be sorry...where does it hurt?" he asked looking over him.

"I think...I think my ankle is broken..." he admitted.

Kai's eyes widened.

"MEDIC!" he shouted.

"No...I'm all right...I'm sure I can stand." Rei protested.

"Don't be stupid, Rei. You think your ankle is broken. It's over."

"...But the tournament. With Max out, we don't have a sub..."

"You're more important than the tournament!" Kai snapped.

Kai looked around. Where was the damn medic?!

"I'm gonna take you back to the seat, all right? Get you off the floor..."

He slipped his hand under Rei's knees and made him put his arm around his shoulder as he stood up, picking Rei up with him and taking him back to the seat.

"Rei!" Tyson and Kenny cried in worry as they gathered around him.

Kai set him down on the bench and sat by him.

"Where is the god damn medic?!" Kai yelled angrily at Jazzman.

"On his way...hold on!" Jazzman begged, knowing Kai long enough to know not to annoy him.

The medic appeared and checked Rei's foot.

As the medic had hold of his foot and felt it, Rei's face winced in pain.

He gently moved it and Rei let out a loud yelp, his eyes watered.

Kai felt his chest start to smolder with anger. He turned his gaze from Rei across the stadium to Spider, looking at them triumphantly.

His eyes narrowed dangerously.

The medic tended to Rei's foot before pulling out a radio and talking in to it.

It was broken all right...

Rei was down.

But what did that mean?

The crowd waited with anticipation to find out what was going to be decided.

Jazzman put his hand to his earphone as a message came through.

"Rei has no choice but to sit out the last round of the tournament. It's been decided that another member of the Bladebreakers will be allowed to step in in his place. Bladebreakers, you have one minute to decide..." he announced over the mic.

Tyson stood up, panicked by the time restraint. He turned to his team.

"...So, how do we decide which one of us will go?"

"Uh...I think it's already been decided..." Kenny said weakly as he pointed behind Tyson's shoulder.

He turned around.

Kai was already storming his way to the dish.

"...Oh...I guess its Kai, then..." he said as a bead of sweat fell.

Kai marched to the dish, his violet eyes burned as they fixed on his target.

His face seven shades of pissed.

Bitter revenge-seeking rage pulsed through him.

He was going to _destroy_ him for what he did to Rei.

He reached up to his neck and unraveled his scarf, tossing it roughly behind him just as he reached the stairs to the dish. The long, white cloth floating to the ground.

"Ooooohhhhh...the gloves are off!" Tyson gasped.

Rei felt his heart flutter before it started pounding against his chest.

Mr. Harris let out a smirk.

Of course it would be Kai.

He felt his stomach squirm again as he saw the scarf come off.

This was going to be _good._

" _...Go get him..."_ he growled in his head, desperately wanting this Spider guy to get his ass handed to him by his rage-fueled student.

Kai stepped up to the dish, glaring daggers.

Spider just continued to look smug.

"I hope you're more of a challenge for me than your pathetic excuse of a teammate..." he goated.

Kai's eyes just smoldered harder.

Jazzman struck a pose.

"It all comes down to this, ladies and gentlemen! Who will take the title!? Bladers, are you READDYYYYY?!"

Kai set up his launcher and got in to position, gripping it until his knuckles went white.

Spider went from smug looking to determined.

"3...2...1...Let it riiiiiiiiiiip!"

Kai snarled before he cried out furiously, yanking at his ripcord ferociously.

His blade propelled out and slammed in to the dish, flying its way towards Spider's, leaving a slight trail of smoke.

Spider rose to him and sent his blade towards him.

They collided.

Spider's blade instantly got propelled back.

His face dropped, not expecting to be pushed back like that.

Kenny went wide eyed as he checked the data.

"Kai's power level is off the scale! I don't know where this level of power is coming from!"

" _Oh, I doooo!"_ Dizzi said teasingly.

Apparently Kenny missed it...his eyes too busy scanning the data.

Kai's pupils constricted and his teeth grit. He wasn't going to waste any time.

" _DRANZER!"_ he near enough screamed as he clenched his fists.

The rapidly spinning blade began to glow and the white light expelled from it. Dranzer emerging in a blaze of strength, looking larger and more glorious than ever before.

Kenny almost let out a shriek.

"I don't believe it! I don't think I've ever seen Dranzer so powerful!"

Tyson ran to look over his shoulder before looking back to the match.

Spider looked intimidated only for a second before recomposing himself.

"Wanna get right to it, huh? Fine! Have it your way! _Latrodex!_!"

The monsterous Black Widow reemerged from the blade.

"Silk-thread attack!" he yelled, wanting this over quickly.

"Fly, Dranzer!" Kai commanded as the white strings shot at her.

With a powerful flap of her wings, Dranzer soared.

...But the white thread caught one of her talons. Just like in the battle he lost to Tito.

Tyson, Kenny and Rei gasped...this could end badly.

Spider laughed.

"I knew I'd take you down as easy as your weak little friend!"

Kai smirked menacingly.

"Take her for a spin, Dranzer!" he commanded.

Dranzer's eye glinted as she swooped down, grabbing the spider around the middle with her talons and taking off.

She couldn't bite, she couldn't shoot her web, she couldn't touch her.

She soared vertically.

Kai's face turned aggressive.

"Now _drop_ her." he ordered violently.

Once again, Dranzer's feathers ignited into intense, blazing flames as she plummeted down at an alarming speed, releasing Latrodex at the last second, slamming her in to the ground.

The stadium shook.

Spider wobbled as the dish also shook from the impact of his bit-beast to the ground, stunned.

Kai also steadied himself, still looked raging. He didn't want to just beat him. He wanted to destroy him.

The rest of his team watched intently. Even Kenny was no longer looking at his computer. They'd seen some great, powerful moves from Kai. But this was different.

Throught the huge plumes of dust from Latrodex's crash to the ground, Dranzer's blazing form flew up in to view.

The space around Kai's feet began to spark, a circle of flames appeared around him as he clenched his fists, bared his teeth and almost hunched over in fury.

"You picked the wrong guy to mess with..." he growled raspily, "You picked the wrong guy to hurt and the wrong guy to call weak... _and you're gonna pay f or it_!" he yelled fiercely.

The fire surrounding him grew from small flames to roaring ones, engulfing him.

Spider looked on, scared.

Kai growled as he lifted his arms before bringing his fists down to his sides.

" _DRANZER, INCINERATE THEM!"_ he practically screamed as the flames surrounding him raged fiercly.

Dranzer burst in to a blinding flames.

She flapped her wings and the dish became incapsulated in a vortex of blazing inferno that shot up from the dish to the top of the stadium.

The dazzling light made the spectators shield their eyes.

With a powerful call from Dranzer, there was loud blast that once again shook the stadium.

From the fiery vortex, Spider was blasted powerfully out the ring, hurtling back as he had made Rei. As he hit the ground, his body continued to skid along it from the force.

His blade also flung out the dish, propelling so powerfully it slammed in to the wall near the Stingers' bench.

The flames evaporated and Dranzer returned to her blade. The smoking blade flew up and Kai snatched it roughly.

There was stunned silence.

Jazzman blinked.

"And the winner is...KAI! MEANING THE BLADEBREAKERS TAKE THE TITLE ONCE AGAIN!"

The crowd burst in to screaming cheers.

Kai made his way back to his team. As he approached them, they were staring at him.

He looked between them.

"...What?"

Before they could answer, Jazzman appeared, telling them they had to come get their trophy.

Tyson and Kenny helped Rei up and supported him up to the podium for Mr. Dickinson to come and hand them their prize.

The crowd went ballistic.

Kai went down the stairs again first, turning when he reached the bottom to wait for the others.

Tyson had the trophy under one arm, his other around Rei's waist, supporting him as he hopped.

As he took his next hop, Rei's foot slipped on the edge of the stair.

He fell forward.

Kai lunged forward to catch him and Rei instinctivly grabbed hold of him.

He looked up, slightly red faced from falling in to him.

"...We should get you to the medical ward. Get that wrapped up." Kai said firmly.

Before Rei could reply, Kai had swept him up in his arms and started carrying him out.

His face grew a little more flushed as he was picked up ...for the second time that day.

As much as he was enjoying being held by those strong arms...he also couldn't shake off the feeling he had when he watched Kai battling.

Kai felt the strange tension.

Meanwhile, Tyson and Kenny waited in the locker rooms.

They too feeling weird about the battle.

They were watching it back on Kenny's laptop.

"I don't think I've ever seen Kai play like that before..." Kenny stated.

Tyson sighed.

"I know...I mean...I'm obviously glad he won, and glad he got revenge for Rei...but it just seemed a little..."

"...Excessive?" Kenny finished.

"Exactly...

"Well..." came Dizzi's voice, "Strong feelings do that to a person."

"What do you mean, Dizzi?"

"I'm just saying, certain feelings can make you a little crazy...like hate...or... _love_."

"But Kai's always had a temper...I've never seen him quite flip his lid like that..." Tyson responded.

"Must have just caught him on an off day..." Kenny added.

Dizzi wished she had hands and a face so that she could face-palm herself...

Rei had come to her last weekend...she was sworn to secrecy, but figured dropping a few hints was probably fine...

Unfortunately, they were as stupid as Kai and Rei.

 _xxxxx_

 _Rei arrived at Tyson's. It was the weekend before the tournament. They had work to do._

 _Kai had choir practice, he'd be joining them later that afternoon._

 _But Rei couldn't focus..._

 _The night he and Kai made up for looking in his file, they practiced together on the roof again._

 _As their blades collided, that weird full-body tingling feeling they'd once experienced came back. This time with an intensity that almost brought Rei to his knees._

 _He had to know what it was..._

 _He walked over to Kenny bashfully._

" _Hey Chief...Uh...I know this is going to sound weird but...could I, possibly, talk to Dizzi...in private?"_

 _Kenny frowned...that was an odd request._

" _Um...sure?" he replied as he quizzically held Dizzi out to him._

 _Rei flushed and took Dizzi to the next room, shutting the door behind him._

" _Well...this is a first." Dizzi's voice came, "What's up, Rei?"_

" _I need to ask you about something that's happened...but I need you to swear you'll keep this between me and you."_

" _My lips are sealed!" she said, seemingly pleased she was going to get some secret of some kind._

 _Rei took a breath before telling her about the two occasions where the weird feeling happened._

 _Dizzi listened._

" _I see...and you know for sure that Kai felt it too?"_

" _He did."_

" _Hmmm...I wonder what it could be..." she said almost slyly._

 _Rei's face fell._

" _You don't know either?" he said, disappointed._

" _I think Driger and Dranzer are trying to tell you something..."_

" _So you do know what it is?!" Rei asked hopefully._

" _Maaaaaaybe...but you need to figure that out on your own."_

 _Rei sighed, almost annoyed._

 _Why couldn't she just tell him?_

" _All right...thanks Dizzi, I guess..."_

" _You're welcome!" she teased, "let me know when you figure it out..."_

 _xxxxxxxxxxx_

She was surrounded by idiots, apparently.

Back in the medical room, and the doctor had just finished putting Rei's ankle in a cast.

Kai sat next to him and waited with him.

The doctor stepped out, leaving the two alone.

There was still an awkward silence.

The awkwardness coming from Rei. It made Kai uncomfortable.

"...Is something wrong?" he asked finally.

Rei turned to him, a little surprised. Kai never usually sounded so concerned like this. Usually it was a blunt _"What is it?"_ or _"Spit it out..."_

"I..." Rei started before pausing, carefully considering his words. He let out a sigh.

"...it's nothing."

Kai resisted rolling his eyes.

"Just spit it out, Rei."

Rei smiled slightly. There he was...

The smile disappeared.

"Its just...I don't want to sound ungrateful or anything...you stepped up to the plate when I was down and won it for us...and you got him back for me..."

Kai frowned, wondering where the problem was.

"...but I'm quickly getting more and more worried about you, Kai..." he said softly, avoiding eye contact.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kai said as his frown got deeper.

Rei turned to him.

"It was a beyblade battle, Kai...I lost fair and square. I got hurt. I'm not thrilled about it, but it happens. I wanted you to beat him...and you did that...but you also let your temper get the better of you... _again._ "

Kai stared, confused.

Hadn't he done the right thing by Rei?

"You got violent again...you weren't satisfied with just beating him in the match. You wanted to hurt him. I've never seen you throw such a powerful attack like that before. It was more scary than it was impressive...you lost control. It's just lucky Spider didn't get seriously hurt..."

He felt Kai stiffen.

"...I see...I'm the asshole once again..." Kai said darkly, "...remind me never to stand up for any of you again..." he spat as he stood himself up.

"Kai, wait...don't be like that!" Rei pleaded.

He ignored him, storming out the door and slamming it shut.

As he left the room, Tyson and Kenny approached!

"Hey Kai!" Tyson greeted, "How's Rei? And how are you?! That was one hell of a show, bud..." he said, having not had a chance to talk to him about it yet.

Kai growled.

"Don't start on me, too!" he yelled as he pushed past them and kept walking, leaving Tyson and Kenny baffled.

"...What was that about?" Tyson asked.

"...I dunno...but let's let him cool off...we should check on Rei anyway."

Kai continued to storm down the hall.

"KAI!" came a familiar voice.

He whirled round and felt himself groan.

"I thought I told you not to come!" he snapped.

Mr. Harris' face fell as he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Charming! I just came to congratulate you! Well done on winning the title again!"

Kai's face turned angry.

"I told you not to come! Why can't you just do as I ask and leave me alone?!" he yelled.

Dan sighed.

"...What's happened?" he asked, sensing his little outburst wasn't actually to do with him.

Kai's face instantly went from angry to upset.

"I just wanted to get him back for hurting Rei...why am I the bad guy?! I'm always the _god damn_ bad guy!" he said, frustrated as he kicked the wall.

Dan waited for more of an explanation. Kai turned to him.

"Rei's not happy with me because he said I lost my temper again. But I didn't! I was just doing what anyone would do! Getting payback! He hurt Rei so I hurt him back!" he argued defensively.

Mr. Harris thought for a moment.

"Well...I see your side...but as someone who watched it, I can kind of see Rei's, too...I think what Rei's saying is there's a fine line between getting even and being excessive..."

Kai frowned again.

"So you think I went overboard, too?!"

"Well...I mean...It _was_ pretty intense...I don't know much about this sport...but I do think you could have beaten him easily after you dropped him. But you literally exploded in flames...I mean...I literally can't think of a better analogy than that."

Kai huffed.

"...I don't think Rei is saying you're the bad guy, Kai...or that he's mad at you. I think he's just worried about you and being honest with you."

"Hn." Kai huffed again, folding his arms.

Mr. Harris cracked a small smile.

"...Right. Enough of this. You two can talk about serious stuff later. Right now you and your team just won a tournament. Put it aside and go celebrate with them."

He grabbed him by the arm and dragged him protesting to the locker rooms.

As he threw open the door, Rei was stood up, a crutch under each arm. Tyson and Kenny with him...as well as Kai's classmates who were excitedly praising them and discussing their victory.

"Ooooh! Look! The whole gang's here!" Mr. Harris beamed.

Kai felt himself cringe. What the hell were these guys doing here!? He turned his head and gave a stabbing look at Mr. Harris. He prefered his school and personal life to be kept seperate. Now here they were mixing.

They all turned to see the two in the doorway.

Reuben and his classmates lit up.

The four classmates charged towards him.

"Kai, you were _amazing_!"

"Such a badass!"

"Way to save the day in a blaze of glory!"

Kai froze at the stampede of classmates heading his way. He tensed as they took hold of him by the arms and legs and lifted him up horizontally.

"What the hell are you doing!? Put me _down_!"

"Three cheers for Kai!"

"Hip! Hip!"

They bent at the knees before coming up and throwing him up in the air.

"Hooray!"

Kai let out a shriek as he briefly got thrown in the air, coming back down and being caught again.

"I'm serious! Stop it! Put me down!" he insisted as he wriggled.

"Hip! Hip!"

"I'm warning yo-"

"Hooray!" they ignored as they tossed him in the air again.

"I _mean it_! Knock it off!" he let out flustered as he got caught the second time.

"Hip! Hip!"

"Oh for the love of..."

"Hooray!" They shouted as the tossed him as hard as they could for the last time before setting him back down.

Dan snickered and Rei, Tyson and Kenny were laughing hysterically at how much he hated it.

Kai flushed at the embarassing display his classmates just put him through and started to glare at them, getting ready to tear in to them.

But Dan got to him before he could.

"I haven't had my shot yet! C'mere you lil' fireball, you!" he said proudly as he swung his arm around his shoulder tightly and ruffled his hair.

Kai violently pulled away from him and turned his glare to him, running his hands through his hair to fix it.

They spent some time hanging out with the team before Mr. Harris announced it was time to go back to school. Kai and Rei had arranged to go back that evening anyway, so he drove them all back to Tyson's in the school minibus he'd managed to use for the two to get their things.

As they head back to the school, Kai stayed silent.

Rei wasn't particularly talkative either, answering when the other boys talked to him. But only short answers, unlike him.

They arrived back at the school. The boys went back to their dorms and Dan instructed Kai to help Rei to his room.

Student's weren't usually allowed in the teacher's dorms...but he knew there was still tension between them from the tournament. They needed to figure it out.

Kai quietly supported Rei up the stairs, staying silent.

They reached his room.

"...You need any more help, or...?" he mumbled quietly.

Rei's face saddened. They'd not long fallen out over the whole thing with the file...he didn't want any more arguments. And now he'd had some time to think it over.

"...come in, Kai." he said gently as he took his crutches and hobbled in to his room.

Kai hesitated before following, he also didn't want another fight.

He shut the door behind him and Rei offered him a seat.

"...Kai-"

"Hold on, Rei...let me talk."

Rei zipped it. This wasn't like him...

Kai sighed.

"I know I probably went at him harder than was necessary...but I'm not sorry for it."

Rei tilted his head.

"You were right. I wasn't happy with just beating him in the match. I wanted to hurt him. You're one of the few people in this world I actually give a crap about...if I ever see _anyone_ hurt you, I won't sit back and do nothing...I'm sorry if you don't like it, but that's the way I am..."

"I know..." Rei said with a soft smile

It was Kai's turn to tilt his head.

"I've had time to think, too...I didn't mean to throw what you did for me back in your face. You really stood up for me...It's just since I've been here a lot of things have happened...you've been in trouble for your temper so much in such a short time, I'm worried about you...what I said wasn't out of ingratitude...I'm just looking out for you, which is why I get on your case so much...I'm sorry if you don't like it, but that's the way I am..." he smiled, repeating Kai's words to him.

"But for what it's worth...you were incredible up there..." he added.

Kai smiled back.

There was a pause.

"...Just promise me you'll work on your issues, Kai..."

The smile faded.

"...I don't want to see your demons eat away at you and ruin your life..."

Kai felt uncomfortable with the sudden depth of the conversation.

"...Because I'm seeing it start to happen and I couldn't bare to see you fall...there's only so much other people can do for you...it has to come from you."

Kai didn't know what to say to that. He didn't like this vulnerable feeling.

He stood up and cleared his throat.

"Well...now that's cleared up...I'd better go...keep that ankle up, got it?"

"...I will." Rei smiled, letting the heavy stuff drop.

Kai gave an akward nod and hurridely left the room.

As the door closed, Rei flopped back on his bed.

Although he had felt Kai lost control during that match and he was worried about him...there was another side to it.

The strength...the fire...for _him._

Once again, Kai had been his hero.

He squirmed a little on the bed and let out a dreamy sigh as he played it back in his mind and felt himself tingle.

Kai stood outside Mr. Harris' door. He kept holding his hand up to knock, but changed his mind and tried to walk away...only to change his mind again and go back.

This little back and forth went on several times before the decision was made for him.

The door opened.

Mr. Harris jumped a little to see him there.

"Kai? What are you doing here?"

Kai jumped, too.

"I, uh..."

Dan waited.

Kai sighed.

"Can I talk to you a minute?"

"Of course...come in...excuse the mess." Dan replied as he let him in.

He shut the door.

"What's up?" Dan asked as he gestured for Kai to sit at his desk chair.

As Kai sat, a file hanging off the edge of the desk fell off, scattering papers across the floor.

"Sorry!"

"It's fine, my own fault for being so unorganised..."

The two got on the floor and picked up the papers.

Kai's eyes fell one of the papers by him.

His heart sank as he picked it up.

" _Notice of Requested Transfer"_

Dan scooped up some more papers before he caught Kai staring at the paper in his hand.

He held his hand out.

"...Sorry...I just saw it...are you...leaving?"

Dan's face fell as he realised what he'd seen.

He let out a sigh.

"Well...nothing is set in stone yet...got to have a few more meetings and so on...but another school has requested me, apparently."

"Oh..."

There was an awful silence.

"Like I said...nothing definite yet. Just talks."

"Right..."

"So...what did you want to talk to me about?"

"...I wanted to ask if we could...wait, when would you leave if you were going?"

"End of term."

"In like two months..."

"Yeh."

"And when will you know if you're going?"

"In a few weeks, I think...Why? Would you cry if I left?" Dan asked, forcing a smirk, trying to lighten the mood.

Kai composed himself.

"Pff, don't be ridiculous..."

Dan's smirk grew.

"Soooo you wanted to ask...?" Dan said, bringing him back to the topic.

"Oh...I was just gonna ask...that doctor your brother saw...can we go see him?"

Dan looked stunned.

"Yes! Of course! ...Really!?"

Kai nodded.

His sly smirk came back.

"This wouldn't have something to do with Rei, would it?" he asked, putting two and two together...funny how straight after Rei displayed concern about his temper, he was willingly coming forward to ask to see a therapist.

" _Awwwww you got it bad, son."_ he gushed in his head.

Kai scowled as he turned slightly pink.

"Oh...hurry up and transfer, will ya?" he barked as he stood up and head back for the door.

"You mark my words, Kai...If I do, you'll cry!" he joked, "and I'll call the doctor first thing tomorrow...I'm proud of you."

Kai didn't turn back or respond... because he was struggling to hide that his heart was breaking.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

PHEW!

End. Of. Chapter.

14 and a half pages...super long. I apologize. Got carried away and it wouldn't end!

Despite the length, I hope you enjoyed it!

Please R & R!

See you next time!


	11. Assistance

Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews and comments! Really appreciated! Also really pleased that there seems to be a strong reaction to Dan's potential transfer XD.

Also, I'm sorry it's taken a while to update!

But here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 11 – Assistance

Dan sat in his desk chair, stretching. Boy, he was not feeling awake today. Mondays were always rough, but the excitement from the tournament that weekend had tired him out.

He rubbed his stubbly face and reached for his now lukewarm coffee and took a sip.

He glanced around the quiet staffroom and let out a soft chuckle. Apparently no one was feeling particularly lively this morning.

He glanced over at Rei's desk before doing a double take.

He wasn't there.

...That was odd.

For someone so young, Rei was taking this job incredibly seriously. Dan was impressed with him. Despite not having that many classes and being told he could be a little more relaxed with when he came and left, he still always got to his desk a few minutes before he was meant to be there and always kept himself busy until the time he was supposed to leave. He was more professional in some ways than some of the actual teachers...including himself.

He looked at his watch.

He was fifteen minutes late, really unlike him.

He'd just broken his ankle and he was by himself... Maybe he was having trouble...

He stood himself up and went to check on him. He was sure he was fine but...he just wanted to make sure.

He made his way back up to the teacher's dorms and gently rapped on his door, leaning closer to see if he could hear anything.

Nothing.

He frowned. Where was he then?

He tried the door, it was unlocked.

He pushed it open.

"Ray? It's Dan..."

" _Mr. Harris_..." came a small, distant voice from the bathroom.

Dan instantly went to the bathroom, hearing water running as he approached.

He gently opened the bathroom door. Plumes of steam greeting him.

He saw the shower curtain move.

"Ray?!" Dan called out as he saw him laying in the bathtub, quickly pulling the shower curtain back.

Ray instantly covered his shame with his hands and looked up at him with a small smile.

"I uh...I fell..."

Dan crouched down.

"Are you all right?!"

"I think so...I just lost my balance when I tried to turn around. My ankle hurts to move..." he explained.

Dan nodded, concern still present on his face.

"All right...let's get you up...I'm uh...gonna need your arms..." he said carefully, seeing where his hands were covering.

"Don't worry, nothing I haven't seen before..." he tried to comfort.

Rei immediately moved his arms away and lifted them for Dan to manouver his arm around him to lift him out.

He sat him on the toilet before getting him a towel. Letting him cover up and dry himself before handing him his clothes.

"Need help getting dressed?"

"I think I'm fine." Ray said as he slipped his shirt over his head.

Dan turned around and let him dress. He stayed just incase he had problems.

"I'm done."

Dan turned around.

"...I think we'd better get the nurse to check your ankle...make sure you didn't do any more damage."

Rei agreed and Dan handed him his crutches before slowly making their way to the nurse's office.

He checked his watch again as the nurse started to take a look at it.

"...Sorry Rei, I have to go to homeroom. I'll be back in a little bit, OK?"

Rei smiled at him.

"I'm fine, Mr. Harris. I'll make my own way to the staffroom when I'm done here."

Dan smiled back and nodded before taking his leave.

Meanwhile, Kai walked down the hall. One hand in his pocket, the other holding a bag strap that was flung over his shoulder.

He reached his homeroom and slid the door open.

His eyes widened in surprise as he was instantly met with cheers and clapping.

"Congratulations!"

"You guys were amazing!"

He glanced uncomfortably around at his entire class giving him a standing ovation.

He jumped as hands grasped his shoulders behind him.

"They really were, weren't they!?"

Kai flinched as he heard Dan's voice and instantly pulled himself out of his hold, putting his head down and walking to his desk.

Dan frowned slightly at the cold reaction, but shook it off. It was Monday morning, after all.

The boys followed him.

"We watched it all on TV! That was one hell of a final match! You nearly brought down the stadium!"

"You were on _fire_! Heh, literally!"

Kai tensely looked around at the group of boys surrounding his desk.

"...Uh...Thanks?"

"Sure got payback for Rei! How his he anyway?"

"Broke his ankle. He'll be fine." he said bluntly as his folded arms pressed tighter against his chest.

"All right boys, back it up, let the guy breathe." Dan laughed as he felt how uncomfortable Kai was with the attention.

The boys reluctantly returned to their seats and the day began.

Dan wondered when he should tell Kai about Rei's fall. He figured he'd wait until he'd found out if he'd hurt himself any more or not. Save him from worrying.

Homeroom ended and first period started. Dan passed the English teacher and the two traded places.

When he got to the teachers' room, Rei was sat at his desk, preparing his class.

"Rei! What did the nurse say?" Dan asked as he went over to him and leaned on his desk.

Rei looked up.

"She said it's fine. I didn't do any damage. Just got to be more careful, I guess...I tell you though, showering on one leg is a lot harder than you'd think..." he chuckled.

Dan let out a sympathetic 'hmm'.

It wasn't like he could shower with crutches...and he was by himself in his room. If Dan hadn't have gone up when he did, who knows how long he could have been laying there.

...and what if it happened again and he really hurt himself?

Maybe he could go in and wait in his room when he showered in the morning...be around in case he needed help...Rei didn't seem that embarassed or bashful when he'd helped him.

The little devil on his shoulder appeared as another idea suddenly hit him.

He let out a huge, mischevious grin.

"...well, we'll need to come up with something...don't want you hurting yourself..." he said before going back to his desk, still grinning.

...Would that be too inappropriate?

...They _were_ teammates. They did know each other well...surely Rei would be far more comfortable with him helping than a teacher he hadn't known that long...

...Kai probably wouldn't be that happy with him...

But then...when was he ever happy with him?

...was this a step too far?

...

...

Nah. Nah, it wasn't.

Now how was he going to do this...?

"Hey Rei?" he called from his desk.

"...Yeh?"

"We're gonna move you to Kai's room."

Rei took a second to process what he said before frowning.

"...What!?"

Dan turned his head to him, smiling.

"It's the perfect solution! You two are friends, right? He'll be there when you're there...he can help you in and out of the shower or be there in case you need it!"

His smile broadened as Rei instantly went beet red.

"You can't just...I can't just...no!" he protested, flustered "and Kai won't like that idea either!"

"Sure he will!" Dan waved off, blatently lying, "It'll be like a long sleepover! And hey! In return you can help him with his Chinese homework! Everyone wins!"

Rei looked nervous.

In the short time he knew Dan, he learned quickly that when he got an idea in his head...he just went with it. You didn't have much choice but to follow. Even Kai struggled. He was a choir boy now, after all.

"...Mr. Harris, I really don't thin-"

"Don't worry about it, leave Kai to me!" he said confidently as he got up from his desk and left before Rei had chance to protest more.

Rei let out a heavy sigh as he watched him go.

If it had been anyone else he'd suggested...almost anyone at all, he would have accepted gratefully...he didn't really care if anyone saw him in a towel or less, and he would feel better if someone was around while his ankle was shot...it wasn't a nice feeling laying in a heap in the bath not knowing how long he'd be there.

But Kai...

Last time Dan made him stay in Kai's room, when he first arrived and his room wasn't ready, he'd come in after he took a shower and caught him in his towel...he didn't seem too comfortable.

Then when he took a shower, he insisted he turn around when he got out...

He seemed more on the conservative side...he didn't want to impose himself on him.

On the other hand, he thought to himself, would be real nice to spend some time with him...he was so busy he barely saw him unless they had class or training.

On top of all that, he had a lot going on with his...personal stuff, too. It would be good to be able to keep an eye on him...and be there if he needed him.

He felt himself blush.

...If only he didn't have to take his clothes off in front of him, this wouldn't be so bad.

The classes for the day came to an end, which meant it was time for practice.

The boys waited in the music room, chatting amongst themselves while they waited for Dan.

Kai kept himself to the side quietly.

Dan came in, not looking as bubbly as usual.

"OK, boys...gather round."

They instantly stopped talking and did as they were told.

Dan seemed to be thinking carefully, one hand on his hip, the other rubbing his chin.

"...So, the listings for the contest just came out...it looks like there's another school singing the same song as us."

The boys let out various sounds of disappointment and frustration.

Kai just glanced around at them all, confused by the strong reaction.

"...Great..." one of them said sarcastically, "that's our chances out the window..."

Kai frowned...and then frowned harder as they all seemed to agree.

"...What's the big deal?" he dared to ask.

"What do you mean 'what's the big deal'!?" one of them snapped at him, "the schools that sing the same songs never get through..."

Kai glanced around again at them all. They all seemed to feel the same way as him.

"...You can't be serious? Some school sings the same song and you roll over? You don't even know if they're any good! I get that it's probably not ideal to have the same song...but we're just going to have to make ours better and blow theirs out the water..."

Dan's eyebrows raised as a smile crept across his face.

 _Kai_ was giving them a pep talk?...a genuine one?

The kid huffed.

"And what do you suggest? Since you know _so_ much about singing in contests..."

Kai shot him a look back.

"...Well...why not change it so it has more of an original spin? Make it stand out?"

"With less than two weeks until the contest!? Are you crazy!?" another kid piped up.

Kai let out an annoyed grunt, feeling himself get mad.

"Fine then! Let's just sit down and hope for the best!" he raised his voice in bitter sarcasm, feeling his captain mode switch on,"You know, you guys gave me shit when I joined accusing me of not taking this seriously, and yet here you are whining but not willing to try and do anything about it! One thing I can't stand is a defeatist! It's pathetic! If this were the other way around and you guys were on my team, I'd kick your asses out in a heartbeat! If you're not going to strive to be the best, and do whatever it takes, why even compete? Just stay here in this little room and sing shit together, don't waste everyone's time!"

There was silence as they stared at him, taken aback by getting chewed out by the new guy.

Kai's frown deepened.

"...Come get me when you're ready to get serious..." he spat before grabbing his bag and heading out.

Dan let him go, pursing his lips to hide his smile at their stunned faces.

...Blunt as he may be, his little firecracker was right.

"...I think that's the most I've ever heard him talk." Scotty said finally, breaking the silence.

A few giggles broke the tension.

"...Yeh, shame he was putting us in our place...he's got a point..."

"...What do you think we should do, Mr. Harris?"

"Hm...well...I agree with Kai, we need to make ours stand out...we could try playing with arrangements and see what we can come up with..."

Meanwhile, Kai skulked to his room.

Being in the choir was lame enough...but being part of a whiny, half-assed choir that was about to perform in a contest? That didn't sit well with him...

He got to his room and threw the door open...

Then stopped dead.

"Rei?!"

Rei looked up from his book, a little startled. He was sat up on Kai's bed with a few pillows under his ankle, keeping it elavated.

"Hey, Kai..." he frowned as he took in Kai's surprised, confused demeanour.

"...What the hell are you doing in my bed!?"

Rei blinked and let out a huge sigh.

"...he didn't talk to you at all, did he?"

Back in the music room, Dan was rushing around excitedly, putting the students in a new arrangement.

"All right so tenors here...and then Scotty and James come out to the front here...when Kai comes bac-"

The door threw open.

" _You_!"came a familiar, aggrivated voice.

"Ah! Speak of the devil and he shall appear!" Dan said happily.

Kai stormed up to him.

"A word...now!"

Dan's happy expression faded as he clicked he'd been to his room...

"...All in good time! But right now, we may have something figured out!"

"I said _now_!" he yelled, getting curious looks from the other boys.

Dan gave him a soft but warning look.

"You sure you wanna talk about this _right now_?" he said as he subtly moved his head to gesture at the audience they had.

Kai's eyes narrowed.

"I meant outside..."

Dan's beaming smile returned.

"All in good time, I promise! But right now..." he said as he took Kai's shoulders and guided him between Scotty and James standing out in front of the other boys.

"Let's give this a whirl, shall we?"

Kai opened his mouth to protest, Dan had already turned his back and gone to his piano.

"All right! From the top..."

Kai's eye twitched slightly, not appreciating being shut down.

Dan played them in.

Kai sighed before taking his cue. Resistance was futile...for now, anyway.

" _When you're weary, feeling small. When tears are in your...eyes..._ "

He stopped and looked around when he couldn't hear the rest of them singing, feeling somewhat self-concious. It was just him and the two others.

Dan stopped.

"Don't stop! Why'd you stop?!"

Kai looked back, confused.

"Why is it only the three of us singing?"

Dan beamed.

"Because you three are our soloists!"

Kai's eye twitched harder.

"...Soloist!? I didn't agree to be a soloist!"

"You left! We talked about it. You're right, we need to change it up and make it pop. The best thing about male choirs is when they start off soft and then build up until they finally hit you in the _balls_!" he exclaimed, excited, "we talked and took a vote. We decided you, Scotty and James would be the best for it! You're like our front men!"

Kai blinked as he took in what he said.

"...but...why me!?"

Scotty slapped his back.

"Because you have a powerful set of pipes on ya!"

Kai looked at Scotty and then back to Dan, shaking his head.

"Oh, no...no... _I_ don't want to do it! Surely someone else would be better!"

Scotty huffed.

"Well, we voted on you! How can you be so negative when we haven't even tried yet? I thought you said you hated defeatists..." he smirked at him, causing Kai to stiffen.

Dan smirked, too...but maybe right now wasn't the time to try and get him to sing a solo...he had other things on his mind.

...Like yelling at him for putting Rei in his room without telling him...

"OK boys, here's what we'll do. Call it a day for today, I'll work on a new score sheet tonight and tomorrow we work on our new version. How's that?"

They nodded and started to get their things, gradually filing out.

Kai stood where he was, arms folded and glaring daggers at Dan.

Dan braced himself as he waited for the others to leave.

Finally they were alone.

"...Kai, before you-"

"Seriously?! Moving someone in to my room without permission!? Signing me up to do a frickin' solo!? Why are you trying to make me miserable, huh?!"

"Oh, don't be dramatic!" Dan scoffed, "I'm not trying to make you miserable! Did Rei tell you why we put him in your room?"

"Oh yeh...he told me!" Kai spat as his face started to grow red.

"Then why are you mad? He could have really hurt himself...you don't want it to happen again, do you?"

"...Of course not! But...couldn't he crash with you!?"

Dan shrugged.

"Figured he'd be more comfortable with you! You're his best friend, right? He'd much rather hang out with you than an old fart like me!" he said before his smirk grew, "and surely you're not bashful about seeing him in his birthday suit?"

Kai's face burned and he got flustered.

"I-. It's not-..."

"I thought if anything you'd be thanking me..." Dan said slyly as he lifted a brow.

"Don't be gross!" Kai near enough shrieked as the shade of red grew darker.

"I'm kidding...but in all seriousness, Rei needs help. Today could have been really bad...what if he'd messed his ankle up more? Or hit his head? All joking and ribbing aside, I know you're the one that should help him. You seemed like you'd do anything to help him out when you beat the crap out of that guy at the tournament, I thought helping him in and out of the shower would be fine..."

Kai felt his anger drop.

Of course he wanted to help Rei if he could...but...

This was _so_ _awkward_...

Dan's cheeky smile came back.

"Besides, it's not like you have to scrub him down...I'm sure if you offered, though..."

" _Shut up_!"

"I'm sorry, couldn't resist...I'm done...anyway, next point of concern. The solo. I don't know what to tell you, they all think you should do it and I agree. I'd think that would be a complement. What's the problem?"

Kai folded his arms again.

"...You told me this was a group thing..."

"It is."

"...not when I'm going to be at the front.."

"You'll be with Scotty and James."

"That's not quite the same as being in with everyone else."

"...you were counting on blending in unnoticed?"

Kai tensed.

"I wouldn't word it like that..."

"Oh?"

Kai stayed quiet.

"You're not singing alone. Wait and see what we had planned. You three are going to be at the front and you are going to have seperate parts. But it's all going to knit together with everyone else and be wonderful! You'll see!"

He still didn't look convinced.

Dan's face softened.

"...How come you can stand alone in a stadium with thousands of spectators, being watched all over the world and not care...but standing out from the group to sing makes you so nervous?"

Kai stayed quiet again and shrugged.

"Oh please, it's obvious...singing counts on emotion. And you don't want people to notice you have those... Too vulnerable..."

Kai scowled.

"...Why do I need to go see a shrink when I have you, _Dr. Harris_..." he said sarcastically.

"I know...missed my calling, apparently. Chose the wrong profession..."

"Pff..you're telling me..."

"Bullshit, I know you love me..." he grinned

Kai glared harder.

"...anyway...Rei's probably bored..." Dan hinted.

Kai stared him out angrily a little longer before storming back out without another word.

Dan chuckled to himself.

 _"You're so gonna peek...little perv..."_

Kai was still steaming as he entered the dorms.

Dan _frickin'_ Harris had struck again...

Double barrel this time!

It wasn't enough that he'd managed to get him to go along with his stupid idea to join the choir like

a total loser, oh no...Dan levelled it up and wanted him right at the front! Singled out. Like a dancing, singing monkey.

Why was he even still bothering to go? The tournament was over now anyway...what the hell could he hold against him to make him stay?

Maybe he'd quit...wouldn't matter to the others if he did. They'd probably do better in the contest without him anyway...

And this crap he just pulled with Rei was the last straw...he knew damn well there were other options to help Rei out, but Dan just _had_ to jump on the chance to humiliate him. Was he trying to play cupid or did he just get off on putting him in uncomfortable positions like this?!

...And why was he even bothering...with any of this...

He might not even be here much longer...what did he even matter to him any more?

He reached his door.

He took a second and took a breath before going in...this wasn't Rei's fault after all.

He pushed the door open.

Rei sat up instantly.

"Kai, I'm sorry...I thought he'd talked to you, I..."

"It's fine, Rei." he flatly as he came in and shut the door behind him.

"...You all right with me staying in here a while?"

He nodded.

"Can't exactly have you splitting your head open on the side of the bath now, can we?"

"I know, but...I'm kind of taking your space and...your bed and stuff."

Kai tensed.

He hadn't even stopped to think about that...looked like he was on the floor for a while.

"I'll live."

Rei nodded.

...Neither of them wanted to address the big, naked elephant in the room.

Rei watched him as he moved across the room and set his bag down, undoing his tie, sliding it off and putting it away before unbuttoning the top buttons.

Rei stared...and then caught himself staring.

 _Damn,_ that uniform...

"So...how was choir practice?" he asked.

Kai tensed yet again.

"...Fine."

"You getting nervous? It's not that far away." Rei smiled.

"No..." he lied as he slipped off his jacket and hung it up.

"Really...?" Rei said, cocking a brow, "not even a little?"

"Why should I be? Doesn't make a difference to me if we win or lose.." he said almost bitterly.

Rei smirked.

"Whatever you say..."

"Hn..."

Silence followed.

Kai silently sat himself in his desk chair, swivelling round to the desk and started his homework.

"...You didn't lose your shit too much at Mr. Harris, did you?" Rei asked, half joking...half serious.

Kai tensed yet again...

He'd wanted to rip in to him...but the man had danced circles around him and shut him down...

Thinking about it pissed him off...

"No."

"Good..."

...Yet more silence as Rei stared at Kai's back as he wrote.

"...So,-"

"I have work to do, Rei." he bit.

Rei frowned.

"...You mad at me?"

Kai let out an annoyed sigh.

"No! I just have a lot to do."

Rei sunk down before nodding, even though Kai wasn't even looking his way, and made himself comfortable on the bed.

Two hours he spent in silence while Kai studied.

His face lit up a little when Kai finally closed his books and put them away...maybe now he wouldn't be in such a mood.

He stood up from his desk and reached in to his wardrobe, slipping on a navy blue school cardigan and to Rei's surprise...head for the door.

"...Where are you going?"

"Out." was all he said before shutting the door behind him.

Rei sighed.

Clearly he wasn't all right with him staying with him...

Kai snuck his way down the quiet dorm corridors. Students were supposed to stay in the buildings past 7pm after the cafeteria shut. But he needed air. He slipped out the doors and took himself around to the wooded part of the school grounds where he wouldn't be detected.

He knew he was snapping at Rei for no reason...if he stayed, he was worried he'd explode at him...even though he hadn't done anything...

He was just...mad.

Rei tried to put his head back in the book he was reading, distract himself.

 _'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'_

He'd been to the school library the week before and borrowed it...he didn't read much...but it was Kai's favorite, so he figured he'd give it a try...

 _"Oh my_ _ **god**_ **,** I' _m pathetic..."_ he whined to himself as he shoved his face in the book.

He couldn't say he really saw the big appeal...it was written all...old-timey. Hardly surprising since it was written in the 1890's...but Rei still found it a chore to sit and read it.

Luckily, after looking in to it a little, this particular book was a collection of short stories rather than a full novel...he figured this would be easier to digest.

...One week in, he was still on the first story...

 _"A Scandal in Bohemia."_

He took his face out the book and started again.

Currently, a mysterious, masked visitor was at 221B Baker Street.

' _You will excuse this mask,' continued our strange visitor. 'The august person who employs me wishes his agent to be unknown to you, and I may confess at once that the title by which I have called myself is not exactly my own.'_

 _'I was aware of it,' Holmes said dryly._

 _'The circumstances are of great delicacy, and every precaution has been taken to quench what might grow to be an immense scandal and seriously compromise one of the reigning families of Europe. To speak plainly, the matter implicates the great House of Ormstein, hereditay Kings of Bohemia.'_

 _'I was also aware of that,', murmured Holmes, settling himself down in his armchair and closing his eyes._

Despite being written in a way Rei couldn't follow that easily, he couldn't help but crack a grin whenever he read Holmes' parts.

...He was like Kai...arrogant, aloof, had an answer for everything and made you feel like a dumbass for not getting it yourself...All he needed was a pipe and a British accent...

...And he really was like Watson...his faithful companion who put up with his less than social ways and regarded him with a sense of awe...

There was a knock at the door.

"...Come in?" he called out.

The door opened and Dan came in, smiling at him.

"Hey, Rei! Settling in with your roomie?"

"Uh..." he tensed.

Dan frowned as he looked around.

"...Where is said roomie?"

"He...went out."

Dan's face fell.

He walked in and threw down the sleeping bag and pillow he'd brought for Kai on the floor.

"Went out where?!" he asked, almost panicked.

"...I don't know..." Rei answered honestly.

Dan let out an exhausted sigh.

" _Again_ with this...all right...I'll go look for him..."

Rei sat up.

"Honestly, I think he just wanted to be alone. He wasn't in a great mood... I'm sure he'll be back soon enough..."

"I'm sure you're right Rei, but the rules are the rules..."

"Mr. Harris..." Rei said almost pleading, "Please? We both know he's not out causing havoc, he's just off stewing...probably in some bushes somewhere. He's been in enough trouble recently as it is...his personal space has been invaded because of me and he just wants some space...can't you look the other way this time?"

Dan thought about it and let out another sigh.

"Fine...I'll stay here with you and see if he comes back...if he isn't back by 9:30, I'm going looking..."

Rei nodded...that was something, at least.

Dan lazily slumped in Kai's desk chair, swivelling himself from side to side...making himself right at home.

"So...whatcha reading there?"

"Nothing!" Rei said defensively as he went a little pink, hiding the book away.

"...How's choir going?"

"Fine! Yeh, good!" Dan replied equally as defensively...knowing Kai probably didn't tell him about the whole solo thing...

...and it was back to awkward silence.

They eventually managed to break it and got chatting again.

45 minutes later, the door opened.

"What do _you_ want?" came the deep, blunt voice.

"I don't think you're in a position to be giving attitude...where were you? You know the rules..." Dan said firmly as he stood himself up and folded his arms, putting his teacher face on.

"Out."

"...I know that, where?"

Kai growled.

"Just out! Get off my back! I needed some god damn privacy since _someone_ decided to give me a room mate!"

Rei felt a little hurt by that...did Kai really see him as that much of an imposition?

Dan huffed, his arms pressing harder in to his chest.

"I just thought-"

Kai cut him off, erupting.

"You always 'just think'! And you always get it _spectacularly_ wrong! Do me a favor and just stop!" he exploded angrily.

Both Dan and Rei were taken aback by the sudden outburst and how mad he'd turned.

Dan composed himself.

"...What's the matter?" he asked calmly.

Kai's snarl grew.

"You're the matter!" he yelled, "I can't take any more of your crap! For the last time, stop meddling and just leave. me. a _lone_!"

Dan's face remained almost expressionless.

"Now..." Kai growled as he threw his door open again, " _get out!_ "

There was a pause.

"...Fine...we'll talk about this tomorrow..." Dan answered flatly, "...brought you a sleeping bag and a pillow." he said before turning to Rei, "Night, Rei."

"...Night, Mr. Harris."

Dan quietly walked by Kai, not saying anything and quietly left.

The second he heard the door click shut, he felt a rush of guilt.

"...What the hell was that, Kai?"

Kai went back to pissed.

"Don't start, Rei..." he spat before going to the bathroom and slamming the door.

Rei let out a sigh.

...He had to be sharing a room with him when he was like this...

He heard the shower starting.

Kai threw his clothes off and climbed in to the shower, letting the warm spray of water cover him.

His hair fell and stuck to his face as it got wet. He ran his hands over his face and pressed his eyes before slicking it back off his face.

He took a deep breath in and a deep breath out.

He didn't even really know what the hell that was.

Mr. Harris was just up in his business again...

He felt anger flair up again.

Fucking _Dan_.

He brought his arm back and punched the tiles of the shower wall, grunting as the impact of his fist against the porcelain sent a wave of sharp pain through his hand.

As he took in some sharp breaths and shook his hand, he glanced through the gap in the shower curtain to where the bathroom mirror once was...

The one that used to be there before he'd put his fist through it when he'd fallen out with Dan and Ray over the file.

He rubbed his eyes again, head all over the place.

He took another deep breath to calm himself before getting on with his shower.

Not that he was in a particular rush to get out...

Of all nights, Rei had to be staying in his room tonight...

Rei felt himself freeze as the bathroom door opened.

Kai came out silently in his pyjamas, pointedly not looking at him and setting up his sleeping bag on the floor and climbing in and rolling on his side, his back to Rei.

"...want me to turn the light out?" Rei asked carefully.

"...No...you're reading."

"I'll turn the bedside lamp on..."

Kai shifted and stood himself up again, walking to the switch.

Rei turned on the lamp as Kai flipped the switch.

The room darkened, only a glow around Rei.

Rei kept his eyes on his book as he listened to the rustling of Kai getting back in to his sleeping bag and rolling back over.

"...What are you reading?"

Rei tensed...but was also glad.

"...Sherlock Holmes...thought I'd see what was so great..."

Kai felt himself smile instantly.

"Which one?"

"The Adventures of..."

"...which story you on?"

"Still the first one...Scandal in Bohemia..."

"Ah...the one with Irene Adler..."

Rei smirked.

"Hey, I'm not that far yet! No spoilers!"

"Heh...sorry..."

Rei's smirk turned in to a smile.

As his grandma always told him, 'you should never go to bed angry'.

Whatever his problem was...it was done for tonight.

And who knew, maybe by tomorrow it will have blown over...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

...Will it have blown over by tomorrow? We'll find out...

End of chapter 11! Hope you enjoyed it!

Any comments always appreciated!

Thanks for reading!


	12. One of Those Days

Hey! Super fast update, I know! I did cut the last chapter off kind of suddenly (sorry...was getting kinda long) so figured I'd just carry on this chapter from exactly where they left off.

Thanks for the comments as always!

(Note to Animefan1900, I think you'll like this chapter. I had this planned already and your comment made me grin haha)

So quick note: There's a part of this chapter that makes reference to something from the manga...I've never read it, but I know that part. What I wrote is very very loosely based on it. If I ever go in to it in more detail, it will not be the same storyline as the manga...because I felt it was really stupid.

Just so ya know.

Another quick note: The very start of this story is just silliness I wanted to do...sorry if you're not in to it. XD

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 12 – One of Those Days

 _Rei huffed as sat impatiently in a plush armchair in a warm, dark room. Heavy drapes hanging in front of the windows to block out the night. The walls encased in red and gold wallpaper. The wooden floorboards covered by red persian rugs. Bookshelves stood with clumsily and messily assorted books that gave the room a dusty musk on either side of a fireplace that was currenly holding a roaring fire, giving both heat and a source of light, as well as a few oil lamps._

 _The clock on the mantlepiece began to chime._

 _The door burst open._

 _Rei turned to the door and huffed._

" _Holmes, you requested I wait for you to return from whatever business you had to attend to, but you did not suggest the wait would be this long..." Rei's voice said sternly in a British accent._

 _The man in the door stood tall with his head down, slightly damp. Speckles of rain sat on the shoulders of his long black coat from being caught in the usual London drizzle. He slipped the coat off his shoulders, revealing a dark, tweed suit. A grey waistcoat sitting on top of a white shirt, done up at the collar with a thin tie._

 _He removed his hat to reveal slicked back slate hair. As he hung the hat up along with his coat, he ran his hand over it to smooth it._

" _Not important, my dear Watson!" he brushed off , also in a British accent as he quickly moved and sat himself in the armchair opposite Rei, picking up his pipe and tabacco._

 _Rei waited as his companion tipped the tabacco in, struck a match and lit it, taking a few short puffs causing small plumes of smoke to rise from it before he lifted his glinting amethyst eyes to him._

" _My absence was not intended to be so long, for that you do have my apologies, however..." he paused to put the mouthpiece of his pipe to his lips, "I was able, while on my business, to crack the case of the ringless butcher..."_

 _Rei's eyes widened._

" _Good lord! How on earth did you manage such a thing in such a short time, dear Holmes?"_

 _He smirked as he held the pipe slightly away from his mouth._

" _It was quite simple, really...I was passing that very butcher on the way to tend to my errands. Scotland Yard came to the conclusion that he simply fell on his own butcher's knife...to which I knew was incorrect...I took it upon myself to investigate..."_

 _He paused to take a puff of his pipe._

" _Upon my entry, I observed that the distance behind the serving counter to the preparation counter was far too narrow to facilitate such a fall as the police concluded. I deduced from the photographs of the crime scene that the one responsible for his death must been to his left, judging by the positioning of his body. As the gate between the shop and the butcher's area was locked from his side, and remained locked, the purpetrator had not come in through the shop, which meant the one responsible for his death came from the back room, leading from his very home. This means the murderer was someone who had access to his home. As he has no additional staff, that leaves only his good lady wife..."_

" _But...for what reason would she have to kill him?"_

" _Ah. The answer lies in the ring that was removed from his finger. After I got hold of the authorities to question Mrs. Porter, she and the house were searched. The ring was found on her person. Upon inspection, it was clear that Mr. Porter was having an affair. Giving her the motive."_

" _And how would you know this from looking at a ring!?"_

" _Again, simple deduction...the outside was tarnished and unpolished, the inside was clean and shiny, meaning it was being removed frequently."_

" _Amazing!" Rei beamed._

" _Elementary." said with a cocked brow as he took another puff of his pipe._

 _Rei let out a small grin._

" _I do hope your powers of deduction are still on form after such a day...in your absence, we had a visitor...our client reports an intruder entered her house in the late hours of last night. She awoke and her husband went down to confront the intruder. When he arrived downstairs, the intruder had vanished without a trace. Her jewelry box had been opened...but only a single emerald earring had been taken. The poor lady seemed quite distressed, saying the earrings were of great value to her family and desperately wants it returned..."_

 _Holmes cocked a brow again, this time looking less smug and more bored._

" _Sounds like a tedious case..."_

" _Ah..." Rei smirked back, "the intruder somehow managed to vanish with incredible haste...however left a cane at the scene of the crime...somewhat strange, would you not agree? A man with some form of limitation to his movement leaving so quickly without his cane?" he said as he reached down beside the armchair and held up the very cane._

 _Holmes instantly jumped up from his seat, snatching the cane from his hand and inspecting it. He took one more puff of his pipe before setting it down, leaving his hands free to inspect it properly._

 _He held it up horizontally and closed one eye, looking down the length of it._

" _Our intruder is an absent-minded, reasonably wealthy gentleman in his early to mid thirties. It appears his injury to his leg is not as serious as one would suspect, and likely only carries his cane for a sense of security if needed rather than necessity...and he is the owner of a hound that I would hazard a guess, is a spaniel..."_

 _Rei scoffed._

" _How could you possibly know such a thing?"_

" _Quite simple...the maker of this cane is Johnson and Ford, rather pricey. A poor man would not have the means to buy this...this cane has several indentations from the teeth of a dog, meaning it is not brand new, however the bottom of the cane shows little wear, suggesting it rarely touches the ground, but is instead carried, meaning his injury rarely requires the assistance of a cane. As for the teeth marks from the canine..." he said as he felt the weight, "rather a heavy cane, the dog has to bite down with some force when beckoned to bring it to his master...the spacing between the teeth marks are too far apart to be a small dog such a a terrier...but not large enough to come from a larger dog such as a mastiff...therefore it is reasonable to assume it is a medium sized dog, most common of which would likely be a spaniel..."_

 _Rei also jumped up from his seat, looking over the cane and wondering how he came up with such a theory so easily._

" _...Remarkable!"_

" _Oh, you flatter me too much, Watson..." he said as their eyes met._

 _He lowered the cane as his eyes continued to bore in to Rei's._

" _...I know of much more remarkable things than my deductions...my dear Watson..." he said with a softness that was unheard of from him as he lifted his hand and cupped his cheek._

 _Rei felt his eyes close as he felt the pull to lean in and felt his lips brush against his._

 _The kiss was tender and gentle at first, until a soft moan escaped Rei's throat._

 _Kai began to kiss him a little harder, slipping his hands inside Rei's brown, tweed jacket and slipping it off his shoulders before wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him in closer._

 _Rei responded by slipping his arms around his neck, deepening the kiss more._

 _As the kiss became more heated and passionate, the two ended up on the floor in front of the fireplace. Hands roaming and their bodies heating from both the heat of the fire and the heat of the moment._

 _Rei broke away from the kiss and caught his breath._

" _I've desired you for a long time, Mr. Holmes..."_

 _As he confessed, he stared up at the pale face above him that glowed slightly from the light of the fire._

 _His deep amethyst eyes sparkled as small, playful smirk crept on his face._

" _I was aware..."_

Rei startled awake.

He took a second to come to. The bedside lamp was still on and his book lay open on his chest.

" _...I should start reading more right before bed..._ " he said to himself.

"You all right?"

Rei jumped again and turned his head to see Kai in his sleeping bag on the floor, arms folded behind his head,looking at him.

"Yeh...just...weird dream..." he answered.

"How long was I out for?" he wondered out loud as he checked the lock.

11pm.

Kai had only been out the shower for about half an hour.

"Like...twenty minutes?" Kai guessed.

Rei nodded, still feeling the heat in his face.

"Sorry if I kept you awake..."

"Nah...you didn't."

Rei felt relieved. Even though he hadn't said much, he could tell Kai was feeling calmer.

He shuffled under his sleeping bag and closed his eyes.

"...I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier...you didn't do anything to deserve it." he said quietly.

Rei's sense of relief grew even more.

"It's all right..." he said instantly, accepting the apology.

Kai didn't say anything back...

Rei debated whether or not to push it...but felt he had to.

"...I don't think I'm the only one who deserves an apology though..."

Kai's eyes instantly snapped open and burned as he turned his head to him.

"I don't owe him _shit_!" he snapped violently.

Rei cursed himself...bad idea.

"Ok...Ok..." he said softly, "Sorry...I just don't want to see you two fall out again..."

Kai huffed and rolled over.

"...Let's just go to sleep..."

Rei kicked himself...so much for not going to bed angry...

He leaned over and turned the bedside lamp off, putting the room in complete darkness.

That combined with the silence eventually allowed them both to drift off.

Xxxxx

 _A young Kai was running. The surroundings weren't detailed. Just darkness. But he was running as fast as he could._

" _Dad?" he called out._

 _His anxious eyes were fixed on a tall silhouette. That's who he was running to._

 _Behind the silhouette a door appeared and fell open, revealing white light. The silhouette turned towards it._

" _Dad!? Where are you going!?"_

 _Kai ran faster and more panicked._

" _Dad, wait! Please!"_

" _...Sorry, Kai." the voice said as he stepped out the door._

" _Daddy wait, no! Please! Come back!" he yelled desperately._

 _The door began to close._

" _Don't go! Please! Don't leave me!"_

 _He almost reached the door, he could make it..._

 _Two strong arms wrapped around him from behind and held him back._

 _He cried out, heartbroken as he held his arms out, trying to reach the door as it fell shut._

" _Daddy!" he cried as tears poured down his destroyed face._

 _Xxxxxx_

Kai awoke as he let out a gasp, sitting up.

He tried to take deeper, steadier breaths through the tightness in his chest.

"Kai?"

Kai snapped his head to the side.

Rei was sat up, too. Looking more concerned as he saw the emotion in Kai's eyes. The early morning sun lighting the room.

"...You have a weird dream, too?"

Kai just nodded and immediately pulled himself up out his sleeping bag and went to shower.

Yet another shower with his hands pressed to his eyes.

...He hadn't thought about _that_ in a long time...

Because it made him feel like this.

Why now? Why would his brain bring that back to him now? After all this time?

He did his best to push it back down again where it belonged and carried on with his shower.

Luckily for him, a big distraction was heading his way...

As he came out, freshly showered and back in his pyjamas, Rei was looking at him awkwardly.

"...Kai?"

"Hn?"

"...I kinda...want to take a shower..."

Kai stopped towel drying his hair instantly.

"Oh...right..." he said almost dumbly.

Silence.

"So, uh...how do we...I mean, what do I...?" he bumbled out as he felt heat grow in his cheeks.

Rei's face did the same.

"...Well...I could use help getting in...guess I'll...you know, strip off and put a towel around me...you help me in...I call you when I'm done and you help me out..."

Kai nodded blankly.

Rei manouvered himself out of bed and grabbed his crutches, limping his way to the bathroom.

Kai waited outside until he was ready. Quietly blowing out breaths to calm himself.

"...Kai..."

Kai tensed.

" _...pull yourself together...you got one too...nothing to get so worked up about..."_ he scolded himself as he walked to the bathroom.

As he entered, Rei was stood leaning on his crutches looking just as uncomfortable, a white towel securely wrapped around his waist.

Kai glanced from him to the shower.

"So..."

"...I think I can get myself in...if I can just use you to lean on."

Kai nodded and moved to the side of the bath.

Rei set his crutches down and hopped, grabbing hold of Kai's shoulders.

Kai's hands twitched...he knew he should hold him somewhere...but...where?

He spent too long pondering.

Rei swung his bad leg over the side of the bath.

"...Ah...Probably should have done it the other way..." he said with embarassed awkwardness as he realised he couldn't put weight on his busted ankle and was now stuck with a leg either side of the bath.

He tried shifting his foot to stand more comfortably and wobbled.

Kai's reflexes kicked in and instantly put his hands on his hips to steady him.

They both froze.

Kai at the warmth and softness of Rei's skin under his fingertips.

Rei at the warmth of his hands and strong hold on his hips.

Kai had no idea where to look.

He went with the wall behind Rei's head.

"...I should probably just lift you in...can you bring your leg back over?"

Rei silently nodded, keeping his own head down to hide his burning face as he gently brought his leg back over.

"...Ready?"

Rei nodded again.

"1..2...3..." Kai counted down, Rei bringing himself closer in to him as Kai's strong arms lifted him, for a brief moment, their bodies pressed together.

Rei's arms wrapped around his neck, making it easier for him to lift him.

His scent hit Kai's nose as his face touched his bare shoulder and the soft warmth of his skin pressed against him.

...he started to feel panic when he felt blood instantly rushing south...

Thank god he was wearing loose pajama shorts...

He gently set him down, making sure he had his balance before quickly pulling away.

"You good?!" he asked hopefully, desperately wanting to take himself and his...problem away before Rei caught it.

"Yeh, fine!" Rei answered, trying to hide his embarassment as he too was suffering from a similar predicament.

"...I'll keep the door open...if you need anything..."

Rei quickly pulled the shower curtain and turned the water on.

"Would you mind waiting here...I know it's a little weird but..."

Kai cringed.

"Yeh...no problem..."

"Thanks..." Rei's voice came from behind the curtain, "won't be long..."

"Oh...take your time..." Kai said as he glanced down.

" _...come on...down boy...please..."_

Soon enough, after willing his mind to think about mundane things...he was safe.

A few more minutes went by before he heard the water switch off.

He tensed.

"Kai?"

"...right here..."

The curtain was pulled back and Rei stood dripping wet. Towel tightly secured back round his waist.

" _...Just imagine it's Tyson..."_ Kai told himself before putting his hands on Rei's waist again.

" _Just imagine it's Tyson..."_ Rei told himself as he put his arms around his neck again.

Kai lifted and brought him back down on to the bathroom floor.

As soon as he was steady, they both pulled away.

"You need help with your clothes or anything?" Kai asked.

"...No, I think I'm fine...thanks, Kai..."

He immediately turned and left the bathroom, giving Rei some privacy and getting himself ready for school.

As he finished dressing, he looked at the clock...

Then he did a double take.

"Shit!"

...He had to be in homeroom in 10 minutes...Rei with him meant it would take time.

He got up and sped to the bathroom door, banging on it.

"Rei? It's already 7:50!"

"What!? Crap! Hold on!" he called out before Kai heard frantic shuffling within the bathroom.

Kai hustled, too. Going to his bag and throwing his books for the day in.

Rei came hobbling out.

"Ready?" he asked.

Kai nodded and threw his bag over his shoulder. The two heading out as quickly...but still not as fast as Kai would have liked...as they could.

They split off from each other as soon as they reached the teacher's room and Kai broke in to a run as the bell went.

He made it to his classroom and slid the door open, slipping in and quickly going to his desk.

His classmates turned around in their seats and Mr. Harris looked up.

"...Morning, Kai."

"Hn." he huffed as he slumped down in his chair.

Dan rolled his eyes.

" _Sorry I'm late, Mr. Harris..._ Oh sure, no problem Kai, it happens...but the apology is appreciated..."

The class giggled at his imitation of him.

Kai glared daggers before looking out the window.

…What a great start to the day...woken up by a bad dream, having to deal with his naked crush, thanks to that dick standing at the front of the room...and late.

Homeroom ended.

Dan glanced at Kai before taking his leave. After last night, he wanted to see if he was all right...and find out if everything was all right with Rei. But judging by the look on his face, one that he knew far too well, he knew it was for the best to leave him be.

One of _those_ days...

He left his classroom, meeting the math teacher going to his class on the way.

" _...Please don't rub him the wrong way today..."_ he pleaded in his head.

And so began yet another day at St. Tristans.

Kai kept quiet and his head down during math. Luckily, he wasn't called on. He just got on with it.

The bell went again.

One class down...five to go...

He sat silently at his desk, avoiding eye contact with anyone. He didn't want to talk to anyone today...

The door slid open once again, and the gruff, old science teacher, Mr. Griffin came in.

"In your seats, boys..." he barked.

The other boys stopped talking and went to their seats.

The bell went again for the start of the next period.

The old man stood at the front and stared at them.

"Books out. Page 46. And get your assignments ready for me to collect." he barked again.

In unison, the students leaned over and unzipped their bags.

Kai did the same.

He rummaged through his bag...and then felt his stomach clench.

...His science book wasn't there...nor his homework...it was probably still on his desk in his room...he was in such a rush to get out the door, he must have forgotten it...

Perfect...just perfect...

Mr. Griffin was probably one of the strictest teachers in the year...he wasn't understanding, or caring...all he wanted was for his students to sit down, shut up, pay attention and do what he said.

The stern, stony faced teacher made his way around the class, picking up the papers from each students desk.

...He finally reached Kai's and his face got harder.

"...Hiwatari?" he said as he held his hand out.

"Sorry, I left it on my desk in my room, sir...I can go up and get it during the next break."

Mr. Griffin's eyes narrowed.

"The deadline wasn't by breaktime, boy. The deadline is right now...I made it clear I expected it by the start of this class."

Kai raised his eyes to him.

"Well, if you want it now, you'll have to let me go back to the dorms..." he snapped.

The old man's eyes narrowed even more.

"...Should I make a wild assumption that your book is also in your room?"

"Yes."

"No assignment and no book...I don't tolerate slackers in my class..."

Kai felt himself getting annoyed.

"Look, it's upstairs...I can either go get them now or I can sit here and take notes. Which would you prefer, _sir?_ " he spat.

Griffin's face got harder.

He wasn't fond of this one. Despite being quiet, when he did talk, he had a tongue on him. He'd seen it many times in the staffroom. And it wasn't something he put up with.

"Get outside, boy..."

Kai huffed and pushed his chair back, stomping outside.

….Another day like this...

Griffin followed him and shut the door behind him.

"Now listen, it's your responsibility to make sure you're prepared for the day. It's not my problem if you're too lazy or too incompetant..."

Kai growled.

"I forgot it! It happens!Why don't you just pull that stick out your ass and let me just go upstairs and get it..."

Griffin snapped.

"Look here, you little _thug._..Mr. Harris may let you talk to him like he's garbage and defend for your horrible behaviour, but he's not here to make excuses for you...you need to remember who's in charge here. I am the teacher, you are the student...and don't you forget it! Learn some respect for god's sake!"

Kai's eyes flared.

"...Did you just call me a _thug_?"

Griffin stood taller.

"I did...I've seen you and your violent little tantrums. Walking around like you own the place...causing trouble...getting in to fights...you know where guys like you usually end up? ... _Prison.._."

Kai instantly saw red...

Rei sat at his desk, sipping a cup of green tea, giving himself a little break from preparing his class.

His mind ran over the silly dream he'd had the night before...

He wondered how his mind had even come up with that...it was so vivid...the interior of the room, the colors, the fireplace...his weird British accent.

...and Kai...or 'Holmes', he chuckled to himself. He actually looked really good with his hair slicked back...and that tweed suit.

...The wild hair he had now was better, though...as was his uniform...

In his dream he had a British accent too, he recalled...he wondered if he could somehow make him put one on...it was kind of hot...

And that kiss...

He felt his stomach squirm...that was the second dream he'd had now about kissing him. Both times they'd felt so real, he'd woken up almost breathless.

If only it were real...but it wasn't.

He sighed.

Maybe he could read again before bed...try and will his mind to take him back there again tonight...

He was brought back to reality when the door flew open.

The miserable, old teacher that sat opposite him stormed in looking livid, dragging an equally livid looking Kai behind him, his hand clutching the fabric of his jacket shoulder roughly as he pulled him in.

"Get your _god damn_ hands off me!" Kai yelled furiously as he yanked himself out his grip.

Rei instantly stood up...as did the other teachers in the staff room.

"Why this school tolerates you, I'll never understand! But enough is enough!" Griffin yelled back, "I'm getting the principle and making sure you finally get what you deserve!"

A teacher snuck out the door.

"Go ahead! See if I give a shit! And it's a bit rich saying I'm not good enough for this _prestigious_ school when most of the staff here don't know their ass from their elbow!"

The other teachers frowned. This wasn't the first time he'd made unflattering comments to them during one of his outbursts.

They seemed to get sucked in to the situation.

"You watch your mouth, Hiwatari..." Mr. Simmons, the English teacher piped up, frowning.

"Oh, sit down! This has nothing to do with you!"

"It does when you're shouting your mouth off to your teachers! How dare you talk to us like that!"

"How dare I!? I think I have every reason to call you out for being assholes! You think I don't know you all have it in for me!? That you're just waiting for a reason to kick me out of here?! Well go ahead! Do your worst! I'd be glad to see the back of _all_ of you!"

Mr. Griffin snarled.

"And trust me, boy. There are more than a fair few people here who'd be glad to see the back of you, too!You're a disrespectful, rude, violent little delinquent! You'll end up with nothing and no one and you'll only have yourself to blame!"

Kai felt himself start to shake.

The door opened again.

"Fine by me! I don't need anyone!" Kai roared furiously.

"Hey, hey, hey! What on earth is going on here?!" Dan said with a raised, alarmed voice as he entered the verbal battle that was going on and stood behind Kai. One of the teachers came to get him.

He knew today was going to be one of those days...he just knew it.

Kai didn't even turn around and acknowledge him. He was too focused on the old guy that was labelling him as some kind of viscious criminal, feeling ready to show him just how viscious he could be...

Mr. Griffin moved his angry eyes from Kai to Dan.

"Good. You're here. Put a muzzle on your kid, will you!?"

Dan felt like time had almost turned to slow motion.

He knew exactly what was about to happen.

Kai's teeth clenched as he felt himself snap. A deep, furious growl rumbled from the depths of his belly up through his throat.

He lunged forward.

Dan felt his stomach plummet.

He lunged forward too, throwing his arms around his chest and stomach and yanking him cried out angrily and struggled against his hold, fuming.

"No, no...Don't..." he whispered in a begging voice.

Kai didn't listen and Dan struggled to restrain him, having to use everything he had to drag the enraged, thrashing teenage boy out the room.

He managed to get him out, quickly shutting the door. Leaving behind a room full of shocked and stunned teachers.

Mr. Griffin looked shaken...the boy was going to go for him...

Rei stood with his hands covering his face.

That was awful...

He'd wanted to jump in...to help...but it all happened so fast. He'd just been rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but sit back and watch.

" _...Kai...What did you do?"_

"...I told you all that boy was a menace..." Griffin grumbled out.

Rei's eyes began to slit.

"You're not exactly perfect yourself..." he spat out.

Griffin turned to him.

"...What was that, boy?"

Kai struggled a few more times before Dan loosened his hold on him and let him go.

"Hey! What the hell happened?!" he asked desperately.

Kai shook as he paced, needing to get any form of energy out that he could.

"You didn't hear what he called me..." he hissed out from his grit teeth.

Dan opened his mouth to ask a follow up question, but Kai tried to go by him.

"He wants to see a thug?! I'll show him a fuckin' thug!" he yelled as he tried to go for the door again.

Dan grabbed him again, turning him around and pushing him against the wall, pinning him there by the shoulders.

"Hey! _Cool it_!" he demanded firmly.

Kai tried to push back.

He felt tired.

Physically and emotionally...

"Now take a breath...and tell me...what happened?"

He met Dan's eyes and did what he asked him, taking a breath.

His anger fell slightly and was replaced by a range of other emotions he didn't want.

"All I did was forget my book upstairs...he went at me like I was some kind of troublemaker so I got mad...he called me outside and said I was a thug and I'd end up in prison! I told him what I thought of him back and next thing I knew he was dragging me down the hall saying I ought to be expelled...that I didn't belong here..."

His voice held sadness as he explained, but it quickly reverted back to anger.

"They're right! I don't belong here! Or anywhere! They're just waiting for me to fuck up! Enjoying picking on me and going at me until I get mad and then making a big deal about it like I'm some kind of sociopathic freak! They hate me and the feeling is mutual! I _hate_ it here!"

Dan let his hold on him get weaker.

"...No one hates you, Kai...they don't have it in for you-"

"Oh don't even bother! What do you know!? In fact, what do you even care?!" he burst out as his anger gained a second wind and he shoved him off.

"Why are you even getting involved?! This doesn't concern you! _I_ shouldn't concern you anymore!"

Dan frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?! Of course this concerns me! I'm your homeroom teacher! And why shouldn't I be concerned about you?!"

"Because you're going to _leave_!" he yelled out,unable to stop the hint of hurt in his voice.

Dan felt everything in him sink.

"What do you care any more?! I'm not your problem much longer! You'll go off to your next job, Rei won't be here once the other guy comes back...I'm going to be left here without anyone on my side or anyone that even tries to see things from my side! They're just going to try and trip me up and enjoy watching me fall!"

Dan's face softened completely as he listened to him finally pour his heart out to him.

"...Of course I care...and I told you, nothing is final yet about leaving...we're just talk-"

Kai cut him off again.

"Don't!"

Dan shut his mouth, letting him talk for once.

But his face because concerned as his breathing started to become laboured.

"You said you were here for me..."

"I am! I meant it!"

"No you didn't! You lied to me! Why did you try so hard to get me to confide in you when you knew you were just going to...leave...I-"

His heart started slamming against his chest, beating faster.

"I _trusted_ you..."

He felt his heartbeat growing rapid. It was starting to hurt. His head was beginning to feel dizzy.

"You can trust me...I don't understand..." Dan said, trying to get out what he wanted, but he was too focussed on watching Kai.

"Why does...everyone I let close...always end up throwing me...to the wolves..." he panted as he felt himself start to shake.

As if sudden earthquake went off in him, a seismic wave of panic surged through his body.

He felt rooted to the spot, like a deer in the headlights.

He felt absolutely terrified and had no idea why.

His throat clammed up like he was choking and felt like his lungs stopped working, feeling unable to breathe.

"Happening again?" Dan asked calmly, despite feeling worried sick.

Kai nodded as beads of sweat appeared on his face, letting out strong but very irregular pants.

"Can you talk?"

He shook his head. He felt like someone had a death grip on his throat.

"OK...let's get you sat down..."

He put his arm around him and guided him back in to the staffroom, despite his student's physical protests.

He didn't notice the tense atmosphere between Rei and Mr. Griffin, who were having heated words as they came in.

Every teacher in the room turned their heads to see Dan with his arm around Kai who looked...awful.

Dan pulled out a chair and forced him down in to it, crouching down in front of him.

"Remember...this is just like last time...it's going to pass, you just need to ride it out."

"Kai?!" Rei cried out as he ran forward.

Kai didn't look at him. His trembling hands were trying to grab his tie, but he couldn't get his hands to move like he wanted.

"Here..." Dan said softly as he reached up and loosened his tie for him before undoing his top shirt buttons.

"Mr. Harris what's wrong with him!?" he asked, freaked out.

Kai was clutching his chest, he was breathing weird...like he was suffocating, his face was drenched in sweat and he was shaking like a leaf.

"He's having a panic attack, Rei...he'll be all right...do me a favor and stay calm?"

The teachers stood and watched, stunned.

Dan helped him out his jacket. He looked like he was almost burning up.

"Remember last time...it'll pass...but you can help it along...need to you to try and take deep, complete breaths for me..."

He did like he did last time, taking deep breaths to show him and try and make him follow him.

He tried, but he couldn't yet.

Rei couldn't help himself. He sped to his side and crouched down like Dan.

"...It's all right, Kai..."

Kai seemed to get even more worked up. He couldn't get any words out, so shook his head and gestured with his hand for him to go away.

"But, Kai..."

"Rei, please?" Dan said as kindly as he could.

Rei stood himself up and forced himself to back off.

"Deep breaths...try again for me..."

He tried and failed a few more times before he finally managed to take some deeper breaths.

"Atta boy! We're getting there! Can you try and talk for me?"

Kai shrugged at him.

"OK, I asked you questions last time, remember? Ask me something!" he thought up quickly...giving him both something to say and something to focus his mind on.

"Why...are you...such...a weirdo?" he said after a few moments of consideration.

Dan let out a deep chuckle.

"There he is, my little fireball!"

"Answer...the damn...question..." he panted out with a weak smirk.

Dan smirked back.

"I dunno...just the way I am, I suppose...I just try and be a happy guy, I guess...c'mon, you know you wouldn't have me any other way!"

"...You sure...about that?"

"Positive..."

Kai closed his eyes and tried his best to get as much air as he could.

It dawned on him that he'd just been joking with Dan...like everything was normal...when mere minutes ago he was yelling at him for leaving...

He'd actually told him all that...as well as other things...it just came out...he'd let his guard down.

He felt himself start to flair up again. The tightness in his chest coming back, his difficulty breathing, his heart rate rising.

He felt a pair of strong hands on his shoulders.

"Whoa now, it's all right...I'm right here." Dan's deep voice soothed.

Kai cracked his eyes open and met his kind, steely grey ones.

He instantly felt better and focussed back on filling his lungs as much as he could before letting it out until his lungs were empty.

The shaking gradually got less intense. The feeling of panic diminished. The heavy feeling on his chest lifted.

And then finally, he was calm again.

Dan smiled at him.

"...There we go..."

Kai felt wiped.

He sat himself up and lifted his head...

It finally dawned on him that each and every one of them had just witness him in a literal state of panic...

Rei included.

Despite still feeling light headed, he picked himself out of his chair and quickly sped out the room.

Dan immediately went after him.

"Hey! Where are you going?" he said as he caught up to him, gently taking him by the arm.

"...They all saw..."

"Hey...don't worry...no one's going to think anything ill of you for it..."

"They saw me weak! They can use that against me!" he barked back.

Dan sighed.

"Come on...emotions are high...don't go stressing...let's get you back to your room. You have permission to rest today."

Kai didn't argue.

Not because he felt he needed a rest, but it meant he didn't have to face anyone...

Just Rei...

Dan went up to his room with him and made him lay down before he left.

"...I have something I got to do...but I'll be back in a little while...you rest, got it?"

Kai nodded quietly.

As soon as the door closed, Kai pressed his hands against his eyes.

Why did that have to happen? Why did they have to see it?

That was the equivelant of them seeing him pee his pants.

He felt humiliated...

As well as a full blown mix of all kinds of other emotions...

….Today had been one hell of a day...

Meanwhile, Dan stormed his way back to the staffroom, this time some fire in _his_ eyes.

He had some things he needed to get off his chest as well...

No one called his boy a thug and got away with it...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

End of Chapter 12!

I know I'm cutting this chapter off suddenly like the last one...but it's going to pick right up from here in the next chapter!

I know the Holmesian dream was also pretty dumb...and probably didn't make much sense but...I really wanted to do it. So I did. Rei loves him sooooo much XD.

I hope you enjoyed it!

Any comments appreciated! I'd love to hear what you think!

Thank you for reading!


	13. Support

Hey! Thank you for your comments! Really, really appreciate it!

Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 13 – Support

"...I told you all that boy was a menace..." Griffin grumbled out.

Rei's eyes began to slit.

"You're not exactly perfect yourself..." he spat out.

Griffin turned to him.

"...What was that, boy?"

"You heard me..." Rei growled, "a bit rich going at him for having no respect when you told Mr. Harris to put a _ **muzzle**_ on him..." he spat out as his eyes slit further, "like he's some kind of viscous _dog_!"

"Now hold on just a-" Griffin started.

"Menace...? Delinquent...?" Rei listed off angrily, "that's how you talk to your students?"

Griffin also growled.

"I've been doing this a lot longer than you boy, trust me...I've seen it all before! Boys like that never change...they're dangerous! In my day they caned it out of you, and if you were stupid enough to get caned, lord help you when your parents found out...nowadays the violent ones get let off scot free and never learn that there are consequences to their actions..."

"Sounds like it's time for you to retire, grandpa..." Rei snapped.

Griffin's face darkened.

The door slid open and they all turned to see Dan with his arm around Kai...who looked terrible.

They stood and watched helplessly and clueless as to what was going on.

They watched Rei frantically hobble over to him, panicked.

"He's having a panic attack, Rei...don't worry, he'll be all right." Dan explained.

The teacher's went wide eyed.

Kai? ...The quiet but sharp-mouthed, moody guy that seemed tough as nails? A _panic_ attack?

They kept their eyes on him. He was trembling like he'd just been through something hugely traumatic, he couldn't breathe, he gripped his chest like he was having chest pains. He was sweating feverishly...

Dan helped him loosen his tie and top buttons.

Their attention turned to him.

"Remember last time...it'll pass...but you can help it along...need to you to try and take deep, complete breaths for me..."

 _Last time?_

Kai was struggling.

"Deep breaths...try again for me...Atta boy! We're getting there! Can you try and talk for me?...OK, I asked you questions last time, remember? Ask me something!"

A few moments passed...they waited...

"Why...are you...such...a weirdo?"

Dan laughed.

"There he is, my little fireball!"

"Answer...the damn...question..." Kai panted out with a weak smirk.

Despite the serious situation, every single teacher was left with a feeling of shock...

 _'My little fireball'?_

The relationship between the two of them...this was unexpected.

They'd only ever seen Kai biting Dan's head off or going in to a rage at him...or Dan frustrated and trying to get him to calm down.

But this was...affectionate.

They continued to watch Dan at work...he was amazing with him.

Kai closed his eyes and was seeming to steady his breathing and make progress, but for some reason out of nowhere he seemed to flair up again, getting even more breathless and shaking harder.

They could see the moment of panic in Dan as he stood up and put his hands on his shoulders, rubbing them supportively before gripping them.

"Whoa now, it's all right...I'm right here."

The softness and supportiveness in his voice wasn't one they'd heard him use with him before.

Kai opened his eyes, looking up at him, before beginning to calm.

He seemed to be recovering.

A little more time passed and it was over...

He seemed to be more aware of where he was...and made eye contact with them for the first time since he'd come back in.

His face looked horrified and he got out his chair and near enough ran out.

Dan went after him.

There was silence in the staffroom.

"...a real menace, huh?" came Rei's sharp voice.

Mr. Griffin frowned.

"That doesn't change the fact that he's a violent little punk..."

Rei's eyes slit furiously.

"You call him something like that again..." his voice rumbled out.

Griffin scoffed.

"Or what kid? You're going to come at me like your friend did? Should have known you were two peas in a pod..."

Sure, Rei was mad. Really mad...

But he suddenly felt more a rush of sadness...

He'd heard the teachers talking about Kai a bunch of times...it started off innocent enough, calling him 'Sunshine', mocking Dan for having to deal with his attitude...that was fair enough...just playful banter, even Rei chuckled.

But the more he listened, the more he realised it wasn't innocent. It wasn't playful.

They were cruel almost...

They basically laughed at him and made fun of him when they found out he was seeing a psychologist...

All they saw was an angry little headcase with an attitude who was nothing but trouble to them. They didn't like him, and they didn't seem to try with him. They'd just made their mind up about him, and they were all so wrong... Instead they seemed to all join forces on that and enjoy gossiping about him...

Rei knew he had two options. Let his anger and frustration out and tear in to them like he really wanted to...but then get lumbered as 'just like Kai' and not get taken seriously...

Or...talk it out and say his piece calmly...like he and Dan wished Kai would once in a while.

"...You know...he was right about you guys...all of you. You're bad teachers..."

They all frowned at him.

"Excuse me?" the teacher beside him said with an annoyed raised brow, wondering why they were all getting dragged in to this.

"You heard me!" he said, feeling his voice starting to rise before catching it and bringing it back down, "I've heard the way you talk about him...and I know for sure now how you _really_ see him..." he said as he narrowed his eyes at Mr. Griffin.

"I've known Kai a lot longer than you have...trust me, I know he's rough around the edges when you first meet him...you should have seen him when we first met..." he said as a little smirk crossed his lips at remembering how cold and standoffish he really used to be.

"But when you get to know him and see past that, you see there's a totally different person in there...you've got him so wrong...he's not a punk, or a menace or a violent psychopath...he's the best person I know!"

The teacher next to him rolled his eyes at his little speech. Rei saw it.

"I'm sure he is difficult in class...I'm not saying you should all worship him or let him get away with talking to you the way he does...but none of you seem to try and understand him. You all just crap on him! You know damn well he has problems and you seem to find it...funny? That's not the sign of a good teacher...that's the sign of a bully..."

The teachers stood and listened. Each one of them feeling defensive.

"We do not find it funny!" one of them interjected, "I don't know where you're coming up with all this..."

The door slid open and Dan walked in.

Rei didn't notice.

"Oh no?" he said as his eyes once again began to slit as he turned to Mr. Radley, the social studies teacher who he remembered making comments, "wasn't it you who laughed and said something along the lines of 'about time he finally got his head checked' and that you hoped he filled him with sedatives or a labotomy?!"

Radley huffed.

"I was just _kidding_..."

"Well it was in pretty poor taste..." came Dan's stern voice.

Rei temporarily forgot his rant as he turned around and finally noticed he'd come back.

"Mr. Harris!" he called as he hobbled over to him, "is he all right?!"

He stopped and took in Dan's hard expression. It softened only slightly at his question.

"He's all right, Rei...he's in his room resting. Think it took it out of him."

"Can I go see him?" Rei asked.

Dan shook his head.

"I would leave him a little while, I need to have a talk with him myself...but first..."

His face hardened completely...a look incredibly unseen in Dan, as he turned his head to Mr. Griffin and the other teachers.

"...I need a word with the _teachers_..."

The tension in the room soared as he made his way over to Mr. Radley.

"You _laughed_ at him?"

"It wasn't what he's suggesting..."

"You laughed at a student, _my_ student, for getting help?"

"Thats no-"

"What kind of people are you?! How can you even call yourselves teachers!?" he yelled at the top of his voice.

"And as for you..." he spat, snapping his head to and storming towards Griffin, "Put a muzzle on him!? You're lucky I even held him back! I did have to think twice about it! I was tempted to swing at you myself!"

Griffin opened his mouth to retaliate, but Dan wasn't done.

"You told him he was a _thug._ That he would end up in prison. That he didn't belong here!? What is the matter with you?! How could you say that to him!?"

"Because it's true! He's dangerous! This school has a reputation to keep, you know!"

Dan slammed his fist on the desk next to him.

"He's been top of the class all year! He works damn hard! Not just with schoolwork, with anything he does! This school proudly broadcasts the fact that he's here as a world class athlete! He's representing this school at the next choir contest! And you're saying he doesn't deserve to be here?!"

"I didn't say he was dumb...I said he was dangerous!"

Dan let out a frustrated and angry growl.

"Kai is _not_ dangerous! If you all just pulled your heads out your own asses and actually bothered to try and reach him, you'd see that!"

"How can you reach out to _that!_?" another teacher raised his voice.

"By being decent human beings with some empathy! We manage it!" Rei yelled.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"...He's got a point. Dan really has seemed to be a miracle worker with him..." came Mr. Simmons.

Dan met eyes with him.

"...You were fantastic with him just now...while he was going through that...I've only ever seen him at your throat, but it looks like you two have actually connected..." he continued.

Despite being complemented, Dan felt frustrated.

"Wanna know why?! It's not magic, rocket science or because I'm amazing at my job, it's because I actually bothered to take the time with him! It's taken me almost a full _year_ to get to this point!" he continued to yell as he got more and more exasperated,

"It's been a constant fight to try and get him to warm to me, to listen to me, to trust me enough to tell me anything! G _od_ it's been frustrating! He's driven me nuts! You think you guys have it hard when he makes a snarky comment at you?! That's nothing compared to what I've have to deal with! I'm the one that gets the full brunt of it all! I'm the one you all pass him over to when he has one of his fits! If anyone should be feeling hostile towards him, its me! But I don't! Again, wanna know why?!"

They stayed quiet again.

Dan felt himself explode.

"Because it is _not_ his fault! He is not a bad kid! He's smart, real smart! And talented! It shouldn't be allowed for one kid to have so many talents! When he lets his wall down a little and shows you his personality, he's wonderful! He's got a sarcastic sense of humour that's actually charming...he has intelligent things to say when you can get him to talk! He's determined and hard working...a perfectionist, even! He doesn't have many people he's close with, but the ones that managed to get in there, he'd do anything for them!" he said as he glanced at Rei, "He has so many great qualities that none of you are willing to see!"

Rei wanted to kiss Dan...not only was he proving what he'd just told them a few minutes ago...that he was a good person, it also showed what an amazing person and teacher Dan was...and how much he really did care about Kai...he saw him for what he really was.

The teachers shifted and exchanged almost guilty looks.

Dan continued his rant.

"I know he's hard work...but he's troubled...it doesn't take much to get under his skin and set him off...and when he blows, Jesus, he blows...but he can't help it...he sees red and he can't reel it back. It might not be anything to get mad about, but for him at that moment, it's a big deal... He doesn't talk to anyone and holds everyone at arms length because he's scared of people...he doesn't want to get hurt. He gets his back up and gives everyone the cold shoulder before anyone can do it to him first...that's what all this is, he's just defending himself...he feels attacked by everyone. He'd rather be lonely struggle on his own than let anyone in and risk being hurt... we all know that's not a good way to go...but he doesn't see that himself. That's why it's our job, as his teachers to support him, push him and encourage him to open up...the fact I even have to stand here and spell that out for you is really sad and disappointing..."

Mr. Griffin sniffed, apparently stubbornly sticking to his guns.

"...you can throw a sob story all you want. Maybe he does have problems, but who doesn't? Doesn't excuse his mouth..."

"Maybe if you showed him an ounce of respect he wouldn't be that way!" Dan yelled, annoyed.

"He doesn't show _us_ an ounce of respect!"

"You are the adults!" he yelled, "and he is a kid! You seem to forget that! He's only just turned sixteen! Most teenagers are a pain in the ass at that age! Kai isn't the only one at this school who's ever given a teacher attitude! Hell, we were once that age ourselves and thought we knew everything!"

The room stayed quiet.

Dan felt tired, he wasn't sure if they'd even listened to a word he'd said.

"...For god's sake..He's just a messed up kid, not a bad one. I've only been given a brief overview from Mr. Dickinson about what he went through and I don't think that even really scratches the surface...we don't know much else because he just won't tell anyone...Isn't that alarming to you?

Whatever happened made him this way...it's made him feel like he's on his own and that the whole world is out to get him... You're just proving that to him by being like this with him...he's not stupid, he picks up on how you really feel about him." he said tiredly as he looked back to Mr. Griffin.

"Today all kicked off because he forgot his book in his room...right? I mean...did it really have to escalate like that? Did you really have to jump on him? He never forgets his things...it was clearly a one off...you let your personal feelings get in the way of your judgement."

He turned to Mr. Simmons.

"And seriously? You were impressed by me helping him while he was having a panic attack? Why is that impressive? It's what anyone should do..."

Still quiet.

"Now, on that note, I need to go try to talk to him. He's not feeling fantastic...He'd kill me if he knew I told you, but I'm willing to take the risk...he ran out of here because he's mortified you saw him vulnerable...he thinks you're going to hold it against him...his words, not mine...I'd sit and think about that if I were you..."

He turned and head to the door.

"And Griffin..." he spat back at the old man as he walked, "...If I ever hear you talk to him like that again, you won't even know what hit you..."

Mr. Griffin huffed, almost a little amused.

"You're threatening me, Harris?"

"You bet your ass I am..." he snarled before taking his leave.

He hadn't made it far down the hall when he heard his name being called out.

"Mr. Harris..."

He smiled a little when he heard the sound of crutches quickly hitting the ground.

"Rei?" he said as he turned back around.

He let Rei catch up to him.

"I just wanted to..."

Dan waited.

"I'm just...so glad he has you..."

Dan's smile grew.

"I can say the same to you."

Rei flushed a little.

"I don't do nearly as much for him as you do..."

Dan snickered slightly.

"I wouldn't say that at all...despite all this, he's actually made a lot of positive steps these past weeks...all since you came here. He really is _fond_ of you...and you two are really good together. You seem to balance each other." he said innocently with a small smirk, unable to help himself.

His smirk grew even bigger as Rei's flush grew a little darker.

"I wouldn't say that..." he laughed out a little bashfully, "and besides..." he started again, "he's not as...comfortable with me as he is with you..."

He tried not to let the hint of jealousy sneak in there...

Kai flat out made him go away when he came over to help him during his panic attack...and it hurt a little...

Dan raised a sly brow. He had a feeling this was all because Kai didn't want him around when he came over during his attack.

"He is comfortable with you, Rei...seriously...there's no one else he feels more at ease with than you. It's just different...you're someone he chose to be close with. You really do mean the world to him, I see that clear as day. He's just a proud idiot and is worried you'll think less of him...me on the other hand...I'm just an old 'weirdo', as he put it, that gets on his case.. He'll get there with you, just take a leaf out of my book and keep at him..."

" _And like...maybe finally make a move!? Seriously, I've set up all I can for you two! If I got any more involved I'd be shoving your faces together!"_ he ranted in his head.

Rei nodded as a small smile crept on his face.

"Well...I really want to have a talk with him...but I'm sure it's you he'd rather see than my ugly mug...give me a little while and then come on up, huh?

Rei nodded again and turned on his crutches as Dan left down the hall.

He made his way back up to the teachers dorms, making a brief stop at his own room before heading to the student dorms.

He tapped gently on the door before letting himself in.

"Hey...how you doin' in here?"

Kai was rolled on his side.

"I'm fine, Mr. Harris...you don't need to check on me..."

"I know but...I wanted to." he said cheerfully as he let himself in to the room and sat himself on the edge of his bed.

Kai tensed, and stayed rolled away from him.

Dan thought for a moment.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about it-"

"I don't."

"All right...just listen then..."

"..."

"Mr. Griffin shouldn't have talked to you the way he did. He was wrong...and he was wrong about you. You know that, right?"

Kai shrugged.

"C'mon...you know it's not true...but I think as well as everything else...we need to work on things between you and the teachers...you snap at them and piss them off...they grill you and piss you off...it's turned in to a viscous circle..."

Kai sat himself up and shifted to the side of the bed beside him. He turned his head away and folded his arms.

"...if they'd just leave me alone it wouldn't be a problem..."

"They're your teachers, Kai...they can't just leave you alone...so work with us here?"

"Me?!" he exclaimed, flairing up.

"Yes, you... Neither of you are totally innocent in this. You know damn well your attitude isn't acceptable sometimes...you've both got to give a little here or nothing is going to change."

Kai huffed and simmered down.

Dan thought a minute before going in to what he really wanted to talk about.

"and...I didn't realise the thing about me maybe leaving had hurt you...I'm sorry..."

Kai stiffened harder.

"Look, it was a heat of the moment thing, it just came out...don't go reading that much in to it...you do what you gotta do..." he said defensively.

"...Was that why you were mad at me the other night?"

"No! I was mad because you put Rei in here without even asking me!"

Dan snorted.

"...I should have asked you, you're right...I'm sorry."

"'s fine..." he mumbled.

A few moments passed.

"But I want you to know...even if I do leave, I'll still be here for you...we'll work something out, you can't get rid of me that easily..." he said as he let out one of his grins.

"You really don't need to do this...I'm fine."

Dan sighed as he reached over and put an arm around him.

"You're not. But it's all right, we'll figure it out...you're not on your own, Kai."

Kai stayed still, feeling conflicted.

On the one hand, he wanted to push Dan's arm off him. Tell him to not bother and leave him alone...

But at the same time, he felt relieved and comforted...

"I took the liberty of calling that doctor before I came up here...I think we need to go sooner rather than later...second panic attack in little over two weeks...we're going Thursday afternoon, all right?"

Kai tensed yet again before nodding.

"...are they going to keep happening?"

Dan felt himself tense, too.

"...Likely...but that's something you should ask the doctor."

Kai sighed and hunched forward, putting his head in his hands.

"Hey...it's OK..." Dan soothed as he tightened his hold on him.

"No, it's not!" he snapped.

"The first time I thought there was a reason it came on...but this time, I didn't have anything to be scared about and bam! There it was out of nowhere! What if it happens during class? Or in public? Do you have any idea how humiliating it was for them all to watch me like...that!? All my teachers...my...teammate!"

"Rei doesn't think any less of you for this, Kai. You know that..."

"It's not just that!" he blurted out.

"Then what is it?" Dan asked gently.

Kai let out a frustrated growl.

"Everything!"

Dan stayed quiet, wanting him to continue.

"Mr. Griffin was right! I don't belong here! If it's not the teachers thinking I'm some sort of violent delinquent, the other students are writing 'psychopath' on my picture...I don't fit in. No one wants me here just as much as I don't want to be here, but I have no choice but to be here. I get really good grades, should help with getting to a good college but again...no choice in my future, so what's the point? I'm a world champion beyblader, but I never had a choice about getting in to that either. Now I can't even keep control over my _god damn_ body?!"

Dan's silence became a stunned one.

He was voluntarily confiding in him...

"You know, as far back as I can remember, everything has just been...fucked. It's just been a big, long continuous stream of one thing after another! I feel like I got sucked in to a black hole and been trying to get out for years and getting nowhere...if it isn't something from before that comes back to haunt me, it's something going on right now...there's always something. Like I said, future doesn't look promising either...so what's the point of even...trying to pull myself out..."

Dan could hear in his voice that he was on the verge of crying.

Only once had he seen him well up before. Not long ago. In the car after his first panic attack with that jerk psychologist.

He'd wanted to hug him then, too...but didn't.

This time he couldn't help it.

His grip around his shoulder got slightly softer as he brought his other arm around and pulled him in.

As expected, Kai went stiff as a board...but didn't push him off...so Dan held on.

Kai tried his best from stopping himself from crying. That was the last thing he wanted to do after today...

"There's every reason to pull yourself out. But it sounds like you're juggling way too much inside on your own and starting to drop some balls. This is what I've been trying to tell you this whole time. You need people...everyone does."

It was Kai's turn to stay quiet.

"It's not true what you said about no one wanting you here...I know things are tense with the teachers, but we're going to fix that. I know them. They're not bad people, just like you're not a bad person...things just got out of hand after building up for so long...we can do something about that. As for the other students...for someone as smart as you, you really are blind...Reuben has been dying to talk to you all year. You keep shutting him down and he still won't give up. You remember when you said 'hi' back to him? It made his day...probably made his month, actually...so why not try talking to him? I know Scotty really likes you, too...in fact, the whole class does...only yesterday they went nuts for you for winning the tournament. If they didn't like you, they wouldn't care. None of them are big beyblade fans...but they sat and watched _you_. If you open your eyes, you'll see they constantly try and connect with you...do yourself a favor and let them...even if it's uncomfortable at first."

Dan finally let go of him...a hug could go on a bit too long, after all.

"As for everything else going on in that head of yours...we're going to that doctor. I really hope you'll try as hard as you can to get everything out and listen to what he says...I can help make things better for you here at school, and I'm always here if you need to talk...but you need to do the work there...no one can talk for you."

"...Yeh..."

"You mark my words...you make steps to open up, things will get so much better for you...trust me."

There was a knock at the door.

"I bet I know who that is..." Dan grinned before getting up.

He went to the door and opened it. Lo and behold, it was Rei.

"...I'm sorry...is this bad timing?" he asked almost timidly.

"Not at all...I have to go anyway..." he said before turning back to Kai, "take it easy...think about what I said, OK?"

Kai just nodded and watched him leave.

Talking to Dan had made him feel a little better. A little lighter.

...But now Rei was here, all that had gone out the window...he felt nervous.

He hobbled in on his crutches and pushed the door shut before making his way to the bed and sitting himself where Dan had been a few moments ago.

"...I'd ask if you're all right but I have a feeling I know what you're going to say..."

"I'm fine..."

"That's what I thought you'd say..." Rei smiled.

"Really, Rei...I just did the whole...talking thing...with Harris."

"OK..."

Awkward silence...

"...Why didn't you tell me you got panic attacks? How long has this been going on?"

"Not long...got my first one the other week when I went to see that shrink...and I didn't tell you because it's not exactly something I want to broadcast..."

"...Why did you push me away...when I came over to you?"

Kai squirmed a little, awkwardly.

"Jeez, Rei...having your closest friend watch you having an uncontrollable freakout isn't exactly on the top of my list of favorite things..."

"...what brought it on exactly?"

"...I have no idea...it just happened."

"Wha-"

"Rei, please..." he said with gentle firmness, "I don't wanna talk about it..."

Rei huffed.

"You'll talk to Dan and let him help you through it...I've only been your friend for years...what do I have to do to get you to talk to me for once!?"

Kai felt himself flair up.

"Damnit, Rei! I can't tell you about it because I have no idea myself! I don't know why they started, I don't know why it came on today, I don't know if and when they're going to keep happening and I don't know how to control it! I'm embarassed enough that so many people saw it without having to keep telling everyone about it!"

Rei felt bad...he was just frustrated.

He shifted closer and put his arms around him. Just like Dan had.

"I'm sorry...you just really scared me..."

Kai tensed up as he felt Rei's arms wrap around him...two hugs in such a space of time was...not something he was used to.

As strange as it was...he wanted this one.

He thought about what Dan had said...if he couldn't open up to Rei, what hope did he have with anyone else?

"Sorry...I guess if I saw that happening to you, I'd want to know too...I just don't know what to tell you."

Rei looked up, but kept his arms round him.

"...I'm..."

He stopped, debating whether or not he should tell him.

"...I'm seeing a new doctor on Thursday...when I know more...I'll let you know..."

Rei's eyes got slightly wider as he pulled away.

"You are? ...Kai, that's great."

Kai let out a deep sigh.

"We'll see..."

"Hey, it's a step in the right direction...one thing at a time, huh?"

Kai smirked.

"You sound like Harris..."

"Because the man speaks the truth..." he said, remembering everything he'd said to the teachers...he seemed to be able to read Kai like a book. He was great...

"What he say?" he asked curiously.

Kai tensed again...this was...challenging.

"...he uh...said I need to work on relationships with the teachers...try harder with the other students and...talk..."

"Again, the man speaks the truth..."

"...sounds like it should be so easy..."

Rei smiled slightly.

"Maybe at first it'll be weird for you...but don't think too much about it...you don't have to go and have an hour long conversation with anyone right away...start small and maybe try responding to people and just go from there...your teachers...just...watch your attitude, huh? Remember, little things go a long way..." he smirked.

"Hn..."

Rei got the feeling Kai had had enough of talking for one day...considering how he always was...he'd actually done really well on that front today...talking to both Dan and him.

"Well...I'd better get back to the staff room...still on the clock...hope you can relax a little...I'll talk to you later...oh! And you missed my class...I'll go over it with you later."

Kai smirked.

"Thank you, _Mr. Kon_..."

"No problem...see? Just be like that with your other teachers..."

Kai's smirk grew.

"Yes, sir..."

Rei smiled and showed himself out.

Kai flopped back on the bed.

He was feeling better...sort of.

Maybe they were right...maybe letting things off your chest once in a while was good for you...he hadn't meant to blurt all that stuff out to Dan...it just kind of...came out.

If only it didn't leave that horrible vulnerable feeling he hated.

At the same time...doing things his way clearly wasn't working out for him...Mr. Dickenson, Dan and Rei harped on at him to try it their way...perhaps it was worth a shot...if it didn't work out, he could always just revert back to his old ways...

It couldn't be that hard, right?

Rei made it look so effortless...he could get along with anyone.

And he did...Rei had made more friends here than Kai had in almost a year. He was well liked.

...Because he was the amazing...one of a kind.

Kai huffed.

He had enough going on right now...he didn't need to drag that crap in to the equation, too...

He lay a while longer, his head going round and round...everything. There weren't just a few things bothering him...there was a lot. He was starting to see that.

He finally grew tired of thinking. It was as exhausting as talking...

He checked his watch. Almost the end of last period...

...He didn't want to lay here anymore. He felt restless.

That and he didn't want to miss choir practice. The contest was rapidly coming up after all...and they were making changes.

Not that he cared...he told himself...just didn't want to be an asshole.

He glanced over at his desk.

There was something else he should probably do, too...get the ball rolling.

Dan greeted Rei with a smile as he came back in to the staffroom.

As Rei hopped his way to his desk, Mr. Simmons came over looking a little sheepish.

"...Is he...all right?" he asked them both.

Dan and Rei both looked at each other before him.

"Yeh." said Dan, "he seems fine."

"Good...good..." he nodded as he continued to stand awkwardly.

"...got something on your mind there, Tim?" Dan smirked at him after he continued to stand there for a while.

Tim sighed.

"Look...you were both right...we haven't been great with him...I still stand by my opinion that he needs to check his attitude and his mouth but...we're at fault, too...I've been thinking about it and I think if we're going to work this out, we need to know what's going on with him...know what we're up against. It's hard to be understanding if we don't understand what we're dealing with. Just saying he has 'problems' isn't enough to work with."

Dan let out a huge smile.

About time someone actually asked...

"...I think that would be very productive...but I want to run it by Kai first..."

A knock came at the staffroom door before it opened.

"Class 1-4. Kai Hiwatari. Here for Mr. Griffin."

The whole room froze and looked up.

He never did the proper announcement like the students were supposed to when they came to the staff room...he usually just barged in.

"...Come." Griffin barked.

Kai walked in, keeping his head down and his face straight, feeling their eyes on him.

Mr. Griffin kept his eyes on him too.

Kai stood at his desk and held out a paper.

The old man looked from the paper to him.

"And this is...?"

"My assignment."

Mr. Griffin paused a moment before taking it from his hand and scanning it.

"...I won't knock off points for lateness this time..." he finally said gruffly before he looked back up at him, "We all make mistakes sometimes after all..."

Dan let out a small smile as he typed, but listened in. Those two weren't entirely different...in fact, they probably clashed in the first place because they had similar qualities. Both on the blunt, stubborn, fiery side...that had to be coldest, most direct extension of an olive branch he'd ever witnessed...it was great.

Kai gave a slow, expressionless nod before turning wordlessly and making his way to Dan's desk. He stood and folded his arms, apparently waiting.

Dan finished typing his sentence on the computer before slowly turning his head to him.

"Yeeeees?"

Kai cocked a brow.

"What? No practice today?"

Dan turned and looked at the clock.

"Oh, shoot! Lost track of time..." he cursed before looking back at him.

"...You sure you want to come today?" he asked quietly.

"I'm fine. That new version isn't going to rehurse itself is it?...Let's go." he said bluntly before heading out the door.

Dan and Rei snickered.

...Maybe it would take a while before he got the hang of losing the attitude...but he had to start somewhere...he was trying at least.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

End of chapter 13!

A lot of talking in this, I know.

I hope you liked it though!

Any comments appreciated!

See you next chapter and thank you for reading!


	14. Under Pressure

Hey all! Thank you all for the sweet reviews! I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter!

I'm sorry there's been a little wait, I got on a roll with another story!

This song features Queen/Bowie's 'Under Pressure'. It came on the other day and gave me the stupid idea that I'm going with here. I'm sure y'all know it...if you don't, you're too young. Stop it. :-P. But I don't own it!

* * *

Chapter 14 – Under Pressure

Kai stirred from his sleep after an incredibly peculiar, unnerving dream.

He slowly sat himself up in a daze...wild hair all over the place. He was aware he'd had a strange and unpleasant dream, yet had no recollection of what it was.

He wasn't even fully aware of his actual surroundings yet, his brain still in limbo between sleep and wakefulness.

The red glow of his bedside clock read 3:26am, but he wasn't awake enough to register that.

His head rolled as he pulled himself out of his sleeping bag on the floor and staggered himself to the bathroom. Nature was calling.

He flipped the light on, squinting and letting out a slight groan at the light, did his business and washed his hands before staggering back, eyes still mostly closed.

His body automatically took him back to bed, pulling his covers back and climbing in to his warm bed...

Rei also stirred as the added weight in the bed moved him and warmth crept in next to him.

He slowly and gently rolled over, blinking the sleep out his eyes and coming to.

His eyes went wide as he came face to face with Kai, apparently already fast asleep next to him.

"...Kai?" he whispered.

Kai didn't answer. His breathing soft and deep.

Rei panicked...did he wake him up...? Or did he leave him sleeping and risk a super awkward wake up?

"...Kai?" he whispered again softly as he reached over and tapped him slightly.

"Hn? S'matter Rei...?" his voice drawled out groggily. His eyes tried to open, but were too heavy and kept falling shut again.

"You're uh...in bed..." Rei whispered awkwardly.

"s'alright..."

"No...you're in bed...with me..." Rei continued uncomfortably.

"Hn...s'cold..." he whined quietly before shifting even closer towards him.

He got close enough that his bangs were tickling his nose, the smell of his hair filling his nose as he breathed in.

He _burned._

He was conflicted...should he try again to wake him up again or...?

It didn't take too long before he stopped debating all together and just...lay there.

He knew it was a little on the creepy side, but...this was... _awesome_...

He continued to lay there, wide awake and enjoying the closeness...which he did feel a stab of guilt about...but ignored it.

After a little while of laying there, lost in his own head, imagining scenarios in which he manned the hell up, told him he wanted him, Kai fell in to his arms and they lived happily ever after...Kai's eyebrows furrowed in his sleep and he let out a slight, quiet groan.

Rei studied his face, watching.

A moment later, he twitched a little and his eyebrows furrowed harder, another small groan came out.

Rei's face softened as he felt pity. This wasn't the first bad dream he'd seen Kai have in the very short time they'd been rooming...things must really be getting to him.

He flexed his hand and hesitated before reaching out and placing his hand on his side.

"It's just a bad dream...you're OK." he whispered.

He felt the warmth under his hand and realised he'd better take it off in case he woke up...he wouldn't have a way to explain that...

Kai's brow softened a little.

Rei let out a slight smile...

Before he even realised it, sleep took hold of him, too.

Kai let out a groan a few hours later as his 6:45am alarm went off.

He rolled over, rubbing his eyes with one hand while feeling the bedside table blindly trying to find his phone.

He strained his eyes, looking for it...only to see it wasn't there.

It was on the floor...next to his empty sleeping bag.

He frowned and rolled back over, still not 100% awake.

...Until he caught sight of Rei stirring next to him.

"Jesus _fuck_!" he yelled out, startled as he propelled himself back and fell off the side of the bed, landing on the floor with a thud.

Rei was suddenly wide awake, too as he pulled himself to look over the side.

"Kai!? Are you OK?!"

Kai jumped up, despite the pain in his ass from falling on it. His face beet red.

"What the hell was I doing in bed with you?!"

Rei sat himself up.

"Uh...you kind of just...got in..."

"And you didn't think to wake me up!?"

Rei shrugged.

"It's your bed, after all...I can't just kick you out of it..."

Kai looked at him horrified.

"Shit...Rei, I'm sorry! I don't remember...I just..."

Rei laughed.

"Kai...calm down...we've shared a bed before when we were younger...and besides, it looks to me like sleeping on the floor in that sleeping bag is messing with your back...you always look so sore in the morning.." he said before he felt the heat rise in his own face, "I don't mind if you wanna...you know...share...from now on..." he offered, trying his best not to sound too hopeful.

Kai stiffened.

His back always hurt like hell after a night on the floor...but no...

"It's OK...thanks..."

Rei nodded, and uncomfortable silence followed.

"...So...shall we do this...?" Rei said finally as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, reaching for his crutches and standing himself up.

Kai cursed inwardly.

" _Great...let's follow this incident with another episode of 'trying not to get a rager while helping Rei in the shower'..."_

He simply nodded and watched Rei hobble off in to the bathroom as usual, waiting for him to call him in...

A few minutes later, the call came, and Kai took in yet another deep breath to psych himself up.

He entered the bathroom and just like yesterday...and the two days before, Rei stood with a towel around his waist.

They didn't say anything...they knew the drill.

Kai stepped up to him and averted his eyes as Rei put his hands on his shoulders, waiting for those blissful few seconds where he'd have his hands on him and lift him up...

He felt the warmth on his waist and was soon lifted over the side of the tub and in.

Their eyes met, and to Kai's bewilderment, Rei started chuckling.

"...What?" Kai asked.

"It's just...I actually think you look good with bed head..."

Kai felt the color drain from his face.

Rei pulled the curtain shut and turned the water on. In a heartbeat, Kai threw himself in front of his new bathroom mirror (having finally replaced the one he put his fist through...) and felt his stomach plummet.

" _That's it...final straw...yet one more reason not to go on living..."_ he whimpered to himself dramatically as he took in his sleep dishevelled hair that to him looked like he'd shoved his finger in an electrical socket...

His mind took him on a wave of humiliating anxiety as he ran his fingers through his hair and tried to fix it a little before Rei got out again.

" _...Did I snore last night?! Do I snore!? How would I know? I'm asleep! ...and did I breath my nasty-ass morning breath on him the whole time!?"_

He immediately grabbed his toothbrush and frantically brushed his teeth while still trying to fix his _stupid_ hair.

" _This is all Dan_ _ **fuckin'**_ _Harris' fault!"_ he growled to himself going through another hate cycle towards his teacher, _"Next time I see him, I'm gonna tear him a new-"_

He stopped his thoughts dead in its tracks as it suddenly dawned on him...

Today was Thursday...

He was going to see the new doctor today...despite laying awake until pretty late last night dreading it, he seemed to have forgotten this morning.

"Fahk!" he accidentally muffled out loud through the toothbrush in his mouth.

The shower curtain instantly pulled back a little and Rei poked his head through looking worried.

"What's the matter?!"

Kai turned his head and blinked, seeing his head right there, hair wet and stuck to his face looking at him, panicked.

He realised he couldn't answer him...because he had a mouth full of toothpaste...

"Uhhmmm..." he shook his head, telling him he was fine.

Rei instantly started chuckling again as he saw him looking like a deer in the headlights with toothpaste around the corners of his mouth.

"Sorry...caught you with your mouth full, huh?" he said before disappearing back behind the curtain.

Kai's head turned back to the mirror and saw his mouth lined with toothpaste and groaned again.

He leaned forward and spat before going at it again.

" _I hate my life...I hate my life...I hate Dan Harris and I hate my life..."_ he chanted mentally along to the rhythm of his brushing.

Not long after he'd washed up, the water turned off and Rei was ready to come out.

This was the worst part for Kai...not only was he all wet, slippery and...yeh...he also _loved_ the smell of the soap Rei used...and just after a shower, it punched him in the face.

As Rei pulled back the shower curtain, Kai tried his best to hold his breath.

They quickly assumed the position once again and Kai carefully lifted him out, gently setting him back down on the floor.

They switched after Rei safely got dressed and back in to the room and Kai was left to shower and wallow in peace.

He came out a little while later, hair fixed like usual with his school pants and white shirt, leaving only his tie and jacket.

This was the worst part for Rei...despite seeing it so many times...and it was such a mundane thing...something about watching him do up his tie and slip his jacket on...did something to him.

He tried to distract himself by making conversation.

"So...today's the day, huh?"

He regretted it a little when he saw Kai tense up as he did his tie in the mirror.

"...Yeh..."

Rei nodded.

"...Hey...You never did tell me...what happened with the last one?"

Kai tensed a lot harder.

" _Nothing!"_ he snapped.

Rei recoiled a little.

"...Sorry...I was just..."

Kai instantly felt bad for snapping at him and let out a sigh.

"...Sorry Rei...not right now..."

"...You nervous?" Rei asked.

His silence spoke for him as he ignored him and continued to do his tie.

Rei smiled softly and grabbed his crutches, standing himself and hobbling over to him.

"Hey...it's gonna be fine."

"Yeh. I know..." Kai said defensively, not taking his eyes off the mirror to avoid him.

Rei balanced himself and reached out, putting his hand on his arm.

He instantly stopped doing his tie and turned his head.

"...I'm really proud of you for doing this..."

His eyes shone with sincerity.

"...and I'll be thinking about you the whole time..." he added bashfully.

Kai's tension instead got replaced with a slight squirm in his stomach.

"...Thanks Rei..."

"Yeh, no problem...look forward to hearing good things later..."

"Hn..." he replied quietly before finishing his tie...feeling a strange combination of being comforted and uncomfortable at the same time.

They made their way down to the school. Kai had to endure an hour of French before leaving for his appointment. Funnily enough, it was somewhat hard to give a crap about verb conjugations this morning...

He felt his stomach tense as the bell went...it was time to go.

He went to the teacher's room to go get Dan, pretending not to see the encouraging look Rei was trying to throw him before they left.

He got in to the car quietly and put his seat belt on beside Dan, who was also trying to give him a supportive smile.

"It's going to be completely different this time...you'll see..."

"Hn..."

They set off...and just like every other time they'd been in a car together, there was silence.

Dan could feel the dread coming off him..

After about ten minutes of quiet in to their forty minute drive...Dan decided he wanted to try and lighten the move.

"...You seem kinda tense there."

"I'm fine!" he snapped immediately.

"Uh huh..."

Kai huffed...why couldn't he just learn when to leave him alone?

"...You know what helps me feel better when I'm tense...?" he asked with his trademark grin as he pulled out his iPod.

Kai's eyes narrowed.

"...I swear to god, if you say 'singing', I'm going to-"

"SINGING!" he beamed with an even bigger grin, cutting him off before he could make his threat.

Kai rolled his eyes.

"Figures...loser..."

"Says the choir boy..." he joked back, "c'mon! Let's do a little car karaoke! Or ' _car'_ aoke heh heh..."

Kai cringed.

"Urgh! Do you hear yourself?! It's like being stuck with an embarrassing dad..."

"And you're my moody teenager that I get to embarrass! It fits!"

Kai felt his chest tighten...

Dan was too busy looking between the road and his iPod to notice.

"Oh! Perfect! We can both do this! You know this one!?" he asked as he held it out to him.

"I'm not doing it even if I do..." Kai huffed as he refused to take it.

"Do as your told..." Dan said in a playful sternness.

Kai sighed and took it to look.

 _Queen – Under Pressure_

He scowled.

"You know it?!" Dan asked hopefully.

"No..." he lied as he kept his head looking forward and lazily shoved it back at him.

"Bullshit! I know when you're lying to me!" Dan laughed as he pointed at him, "Come on! I'll be Bowie, you be Freddy!"

"I'd rather drink bleach..."

"I'll let the catchy intro lure you in, my little spoilsport..."

He hit play and the familiar bass line began to play.

"Ahhhh?" Dan said as he began to bob a little.

"Forget it, I'm not-"

" _PRESSURE! Pushin' dowwnn on me, pushin' down on you, no man ask for!_ " he belted out before turning his head, "You're next!" he interjected quickly.

Kai glared at him and stayed quiet as the song kept playing.

Dan instantly stopped it and actually looked disappointed.

"Oh, don't be such a wet blanket!"

Kai glared harder and Dan let out a big smirk.

"Tell you what...you do this and one, I promise never to speak of it to anyone and two, I promise to stop pokin' fun at you for being hopelessly head over heels over Rei..."

….he said as he held his hand behind his back and crossed his fingers.

Kai's face instantly went from a glare to surprised.

"...Really?"

"Yes! Absolutely!" Dan lied as he crossed his fingers harder behind his back.

Kai considered it...singing one stupid song to make him shut up and stop ribbing him...seemed like a good deal...

"Fine...and for the record, I am _not_ head over heels for Rei!" he protested.

"Uh huh..."

Kai's eyes narrowed, wondering if he'd say anything else.

Dan gave him an innocent look and pretended to pull a zip across his mouth.

"...this is so stupid..."

"If by stupid you mean _awesome_ then I agree!" he said excitedly as he reset the music, happy he was getting him to go along with it, "and by the way, my offer is only valid if you give it your all! You half-ass it, deal's off!"

Kai let out an irritated growl as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Dan's grin came back.

"Let's do this!" he exclaimed as he hit play again and the song restarted.

Their cue came.

" _PRESSURE! Pushin' dowwnn on me, pushin' down on you, no man ask for_!" he sang out again before looking over at Kai again.

He sang...kind of...was more of mumbling the words.

Kai sighed when the song stopped _again_.

He turned his head to see Dan pulling an annoyed looking...almost a pout.

"That's not giving it your all!"

Kai growled again.

"I really don't wanna sing a duet in a car with my teacher!" he argued back.

Dan cocked an authoritative brow.

"Fine...have it your way..."

Kai huffed and turned his head back to the window.

"...so...you been taking sneaky peeks at him in the shower?"

"Oh, _grow up_!" Kai yelled.

Dan smirked harder as he kept his eyes on the road. He was just too _easy._...

"Ooohhh, you're not denying it!" he grinned before going for the next jab, "Be honest, on a scale from one to ten, how hard has it been not to jump on him and kiss that pretty face?"

"Shut up..." he growled out, annoyed.

"Shame you're too much of a chicken shit to do it..."

Kai finally snapped.

"On a scale from one to ten, how much do you not want me to report you for saying inappropriate crap like this to your students!?"

Dan just giggled and looked at him with an amused expression.

"Face it, Kai...you won't win...I can do this all day! ….I think I just might! Let's see...I'm going to guess your favorite feature is...hmm...his eyes?" he said as he glanced over to see his reaction, his face was still glowing and his glare powerful.

"...his hair?"

His glanced again to see his glare had lost some power.

"Ha! Bingo! ...Aw! I'm kind of impressed by how much of a little gentleman you are...after seeing him in the buff, your favorite part is still his _hair?_...You _looooove_ him..."

Kai glowed a violent shade of red before reaching over and snatching the iPod.

" _Fine_! I'll Freddy the fuck out of this if you'll just _stop_!"

"Woooo!" Dan exclaimed victoriously and once again beamed with excitement as the music started.

" _PRESSURE! Pushin' down on me, pushin' down on you, no man ask for! ….Under pressure..."_

He turned to Kai.

" _ **That burns a building down, splits a family in two, puts people on the streets..."**_

Dan's eyes sparkled.

"That's more like it!" he said before slapping the steering wheel along to his part, _"It's the terror of knowing what this woooorld is abooout! Watching some good friends screaming, let me out!"_

" _ **Tomoorrrow, gets me higggher..."**_

" _Pressure on people – people on streets..."_

Dan continued to nod his head from side to side, tap the steering wheel and grin as Kai sang his part...properly. He really did have a good voice, and it sounded like he was trying to imitate Freddy Mercury...he wondered what he was going to go for the hard part coming up...

" _ **Turned away from it all like a blind man...sat on the fence, bit it won't work."**_

" _Keep comin' up with love but it's so slashed and torn..."_ Dan sang before holding his breath...this was it...

" _ **Why? Why? WHHHYYYYYY-"**_

His jaw dropped and snapped his head to him again as his voice soared to pitches he didn't know he could reach. He grinned once again as he watched him straining his vocal chords and trying with everything he had to do it. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but who the hell cared?!

Dan amped his own voice up for the rest of the song, enjoying this a little too much...

To Kai's delight, the song finally ended...he'd _never_ do that again.

Dan let out a sigh.

"Ahhh...still can't believe Bowie is gone...hope you're restin' well, Starman!" he said as he held up the peace sign to the sky.

"Amen..." Kai added.

Dan leaned over and gently slapped his arm.

"And where the hell have you been hiding that falsetto?!"

Kai jumped a little at the slap and the excitement in his voice.

"What the hell is that?"

"Your voice! Since when can you hit high notes like that?!"

Kai frowned and went pink yet again.

"You said to go for it or you'd keep being an asshole! I was just trying to copy him!"

"And oh my god, didn't you just! You know, with a little voice coaching..."

" _No!_ " he protested before he could continue, "Enough singing! After the choir contest, I'm out!"

Dan huffed as he felt a little disappointed...he thought Kai had grown a liking for singing.

"...Wanna do another one?" he asked anyway...

"No."

"I'll let you choose the next one?" he asked hopefully.

"No! And anyway, I doubt there's anything good on here..." he said as he held up Dan's iPod, "that was probably the only decent song you have..."

Dan gasped, offended. One thing Dan 'Music Man' Harris prided himself on was his incredible taste.

"How _dare_ you! I _challenge_ you to find a bad song on there!"

Kai cocked a brow and scrolled through.

"Found one..." he said smugly.

"The hell you did! What is it!?"

Kai smirked and hit play before fast forwarding to the chorus and a synthesised 80's beat came through the speakers.

" _...I'd been had, I was sad and blue, but you made me feel, yeh you maaade me feeel, shiny and newwww. Like a virgin...touched for the very first time!"_

Dan glared at him...something he never did.

"You take that **back**! Madonna is an _icon!"_

"She suuuucks..." Kai said, enjoying riling _him_ up for a change.

Dan pouted before smirking.

"Doesn't this song make you think of Rei...except you are actually a virgin...?"

" _You said you'd stop with this shit if I sang!"_ Kai screeched out, yet again flaming.

It took Dan a while to explain the concept that if you cross your fingers behind your back while making a promise, it doesn't count...apparently he hadn't heard of it before. He was _pissed_.

" _But hey..."_ , Dan figured, _"at least it distracted him for a while..."_

The second they arrived, however, he went back to being tense and nervous.

They sat in the waiting room, waiting to be called.

Right on time, a slim man in his fifties came through.

"Kai Hiwatari?"

He froze in his seat...he knew it wasn't going to be like last time. He knew it, but it didn't stop the anxiety gluing him to his seat.

The man gave a soft smile and walked closer to him.

"The name's Derek Freeman." he said in a friendly voice before turning to Dan, "And you must be Dan Harris! Nice to meet you after talking on the phone."

Dan stood and shook his hand.

"Nice to see you again, doc! We've actually met once before, but years ago..."

"Ah, yes! I remember you telling me on the phone I treated your brother many moons ago...how is he?"

"He's great! You worked wonders for him, so thought I'd bring Kai here to see you..."

Dr. Freeman's soft gaze turned back to Kai.

"Well then...would you like to come through to my office?"

He didn't answer.

Dan sat back down next to him.

"...I can vouch for this guy, he's a good one! Come on, you've got this..."

Dr. Freeman looked between them. He'd been told what had happened with the previous doctor. That he'd locked the door for some unknown reason and caused him to go in to a panic attack.

"You know...if you'd be more comfortable with Mr. Harris in the room, too, that's fine by me..."

Kai tensed angrily. He didn't need his hand held...

He shook his head and silently forced himself to stand up before following Dr. Freeman to his office.

...but not before glancing back over his shoulder at Dan.

"...Pleassseeee go well..." Dan muttered under his breath as he watched him go, getting nervous himself.

If this didn't go well, he was scared he'd never seek help again...

Kai stepped in to the small, tidy office and flinched as the door closed behind him. The doctor walked by him and sat at his desk before looking up at him standing there.

"...I won't be offended if you want to check the door..."

Kai shook his head.

"Please..." he said with a smile as he gestured to the couch, "have a seat..."

He carefully stepped towards the plush couch and sat at the very edge of it, resting his hands on his knees...feeling tense...he could feel the guy studying him...

"I want to make it very clear before we start, that should you feel the need to step out at any time, you're more than welcome to do so...if you wanted to leave the door open a little even, that's fine...whatever makes you comfortable."

He shook his head.

Freeman smiled.

"Very well, if you change your mind at any time...go for it."

Kai watched him intently as he got himself comfortable in his chair and spread out some papers on his desk.

"Let's get started shall we?" he said before looking at him.

Kai's stomach tightened.

"So..."

He braced himself...wondering what he was going make him talk about...

"...what do you like to do outside beyblading?"

His face fell to a bewildered expression.

"...What?"

"Ah...so that's what your voice sounds like..." he joked, that being the first time he'd actually spoken, "Well...I know you're a beyblading champ...what else do you like to do?"

"Um?"

"...is that all you're in to?"

"I mean...mostly..."

Freeman waited as he saw him thinking about it.

"...I...like playing the violin?"

Freeman smirked a little.

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"...telling...?"

Freeman's smirk grew a little.

"A violinist...that's cool...my daughter used to be an excellent cellist...but, after high school she just stopped...real shame if you ask me..."

Kai nodded politely.

"What else? What are you interested in...?"

Kai frowned and gave short, direct answers...waiting for him to hit him with something heavier.

After all, what did any of this have to do with...feelings and crap?

"You like reading, huh? What genre? Any favorites?"

"What music do you like? Wow...very eclectic taste for someone so young..."

"Play any sports other than blading? I guess you train too much, huh? How about in gym class? Anything you like?"

"What subject do you like?"

Freeman watched as gradually his body became slightly more relaxed. No longer so stiff and tense.

"All right...I've given you the enough of the Spanish Inquisition...last question..."

Kai waited.

"...What brings you here?"

And just like that, he tensed right up again.

"...isn't that on your little paper there?"

"You're not a paper..."

"But I mean, you already know..."

"Do I?"

"Don't you?"

Freeman sat back in his chair.

"I need to hear it from you..."

He thought about it...but where did he even begin to explain?

What should he start with?

He felt pressure to respond building as he felt his eyes on him.

He gripped his knees a little harder as he felt everything in him sink...it really dawned on him as his mind went through the long list of things he could start with...he was a _mess_...

"I..."

His eyes lifted to meet Freeman's.

As soon as he did, a large sensation of shame crushed him.

"I'm sorry...I can't do this..." he muttered as he pushed himself up from the couch and quickly walked out.

Dan's head lifted as he heard the door open and felt his chest sink as Kai stormed out towards with his head down.

"I change my mind...I want to leave..."

His brows furrowed.

"Why? What happened?"

"Nothing! I just...there's no point!"

"What do you mean?"

"There just isn't, all right?! Let's go!"

"...you can't have come to that conclusion after twenty minutes...you haven't really even given it a shot yet..."

Kai avoided his eyes and folded his arms.

"What made you run out?"

"...he wanted me to tell him stuff..."

"Well yeh...that's kind of the whole point of this...you asked to come here, remember?"

"I know! I thought I could, but I can't!"

"Why can't you?"

"Because I don't even know where to start!", he burst, "He asked me to tell him why I came here and I can't even...I can't even find a starting point to tell him! It's too late for all this now...!"

Dan smiled softly and grabbed his arm, dragging him back to the office. The door was still wide open.

Kai tried to pull his arm away from him as he dragged him back in to the room.

"What the hell!?" he growled at him as he finally managed to rip his arm away.

"Tell him exactly what you just told me. That _is_ a starting point...don't over think it or put so much pressure on it, say what you feel!" he smiled at him, giving him a gentle shove back on the couch, "now come on, don't let yourself down..." he said with a soft sternness before he turned to move towards the door.

"...Are you sure you don't want him to stay in here with us, son?" Freeman asked him. He'd heard the whole thing since the door was wide open. This was clearly difficult for the boy, and watching them there gave him the impression his teacher was someone he leaned on.

Dan turned to look at Kai, who hunched over in to his folded arms and huffed.

"...Whatever..."

Dan knew that was Kai for 'yes', so turned back around and quietly took a seat next to him.

Once he was sat, Freeman went back to it.

"Let me rephrase the question...what was it that made your teacher here pick up the phone and call me?"

He fiddled with his hands.

"...I had a panic attack..."

Freeman nodded.

"I see...can you tell me about the lead up to that...?"

He took a breath as he composed what he wanted to say in his head.

"I uh...I lost my temper with a teacher...we had a...disagreement and it just kind of blew up..."

"What was the disagreement about...?"

Kai explained what happened with Mr. Griffin. How somehow forgetting his textbook had lead to him nearly attacking him...

As he recounted the story to him, it really hit him just how out of hand that whole thing got...ridiculous even...if Dan hadn't have held him back, he would have assaulted an old man...

Guilt gripped his insides.

"Were you aware at the time that the situation was getting out of control?"

Kai paused.

"...No..."

"What was going through your mind at the time?"

"I don't know...I guess I was...too angry to think straight..."

Freeman nodded again.

"...is this something that you'd say happened a lot? Losing your temper and control over it?" he asked, trying to guide him a little.

"...Yeh..." he admitted quietly.

Freeman let out a small smile.

"Well then...I think we have our starting point...let's do something about that..."

Kai lifted his head to look at him.

"What about the panic attacks...? Can you make them stop?"

The doctor hesitated.

"...One thing at a time, huh? I will be upfront and tell you that unfortunately there's no 'cure' as such for them...but they can be treated to an extent. You were right, I do have a paper here that says you have suspected anxiety issues...we'll get to those, too. If we can tackle the roots of your anxiety and teach you how to handle it, it should definitely help against future attacks...maybe even stop them for good, but as I said...we'll get to that...we can't fix everything in an hour...or a few hours even. This is going to be a process...and first I think we should make your anger issues the priority."

Kai took in what he said before letting out a disappointed sigh.

Freeman looked at the clock.

"...and it's coming up to the end of our time today...so I want to give you this..." he said as he went in to his drawer and pulled out a brown manila envelope and got up, walking over and handing it to him before sitting himself down again.

Kai stared at it.

"...this is some information and self-help advice for managing anger and anxiety...little things you can do yourself."

He instantly cringed at the word 'self-help'.

"...I want you to have a read over them before our next meeting, and we'll really get in to it next time..."

He stayed quiet and nodded.

Freeman turned his attention to Dan.

"Is it school policy that he wears his uniform here..?"

"Well...it's usually required if a student goes somewhere during a school day..."

Freeman let out a small smile.

"May I request you bend that rule in the future?" he asked before looking back to Kai, "...not that you don't look sharp in your jacket and tie there, son...but I imagine you'd feel a lot looser in your own clothes..."

Dan nodded.

"Of course, I'll see to it."

They concluded their session and Dan and Kai went back to the car and set off back to school.

Once again, silence.

"That was much better, huh? You did great! I told you you could do it..."

Kai ignored him.

Dan paused for a minute.

"...What did you think? Was it as bad as you thought it was going to be?"

"...Can we please not do this?" Kai asked quietly.

Dan took his eyes off the road and turned his head to him. His face fell.

He looked really down.

"...What's the matter? You did it...now the worst part is over and you can move forward."

"...Yeh."

Dan let out a deep exhale. He had a feeling he knew what this was about.

"...If it makes you feel better, my brother Ethan hasn't had a panic attack in years...it'll take some time and some work, but you'll get there..."

"...Hn..."

Dan wanted to keep trying to make him feel better...but he could see he was done for today...maybe he needed a little thinking time...

They got back to school and Kai went off to fifth period. He was relieved his classes for the rest of the day were his own electives instead of with his home room class...just one hour of ancient history followed by an hour of music.

He sat at his desk a million miles away as his teacher came in.

"All right, boys...books and files away. Pen and pencils only. You know the drill."

Kai blinked before letting out a huge sigh.

….He forgot there was a class test today...

The teacher came round with the papers, placing them face down on the desks.

"You have 45 minutes write an essay answering the question. Your time starts...now. You may begin."

The sound of papers turning simultaneously filled the room.

Kai slowly picked his up.

" _Ancient Egypt: New Kingdom Unit Test: What does the Temple of Karnak reveal about the roles of New Kingdom pharaoh?"_

He picked up his pen...and his mind went completely blank...

He'd _just_ studied this, for god's sake! Hell, he'd BEEN to that temple! Bought a bookmark made of papyrus in a nearby souvenir shop...he didn't usually buy tacky souvenirs...but that little thing caught his eye.

Anyway...now he couldn't even muster up an image of what the place even looked like...let alone what it revealed about frickin' pharaohs!

He let out a quiet, irritated growl.

Why did this always happen!? When something kicked him down, apparently everything else had to jump right in and start kicking him, too. Like the universe was pretending to wind a jack-in-the-box with one hand while slowly bringing up it's middle finger at him with the other.

He stared at the paper, his brain trying to scramble any kind of information at all before coming up with nothing...absolutely jack squat..instead, his mind took him off elsewhere...

Until suddenly...

"Ten minutes remaining, boys...when you finish, please bring your paper to the front and you may leave."

His head shot up and looked at the clock before shooting back down to his blank paper.

He hadn't written a god damn thing...

 _Shit._

What was the question again?!

He read it over a few more times...still a complete blank about how to answer it.

His hand gripped his hair as he rested it on his arm on the desk feeling panicked.

He'd _never_ flunked a test before...

He looked back up at the clock and realised he had seven minutes to write an essay...

There was no point...

So he gave up.

He put his pen to his paper.

" _I have no idea."_ he scribbled before grabbing it roughly, picking up his things and walking to the front, slamming it face down on his teacher's desk and getting the hell out of there.

He dragged himself to the music room and waited, finding his violin case and sitting down with it.

...Fucking up one class test wouldn't matter, would it? They counted towards the overall grade but...surely not by _that_ much...right?

...He'd had perfect grades since the year started...he was top of his class...this wouldn't jeopardize that, would it?

Other students began showing up and getting their instruments...waiting for the one who always showed up last...

Dan waltzed in a few minutes after the bell.

"Afternoon everyone! Hope you're all ready to get your Schubert on!"

Kai felt a little better. They'd recently started learning a new piece called _'der Erlkoenig'_ , which was one he really liked. It was music based on a German poem about a father and son riding on horseback at night, when suddenly the boy can see and hear things that apparently the father can't. The father tries to comfort him, telling him it's just fog he can see or the sound of the leaves...but it turns out, the son is being assailed by a supernatural being...that kills him.

The music was dramatic, dark and sinister...and really fun to play, despite being a real challenge.

They got their sheet music out and got themselves ready, tuning up their instruments.

Dan got ready at the front to conduct, he turned his head when he heard the music room door open.

Rei poked his head in. Dan smiled and waved him in before he slowly snuck in to watch...which he had done a few times on a Thursday afternoon...he loved watching 'them' play.

Kai ignored him and kept his eyes on the sheet music.

As they began to play...Kai found himself being all fingers and thumbs, struggling to get his fingers to move to the right places to play it.

His violin let out a screech and he got more worked up as he felt the students next to him look over at him.

Dan glanced over, too. But fortunately, Kai wasn't the only one having trouble with it either.

"Stop, stop! Rick, I think your cello needs tuning up a little more...sounds off..."

While they fixed his cello, Kai shook and stretched his hand and fingers and cracked his knuckles to try and loosen them up.

"OK, once again from the top..."

They played again...it was no better, his eyes were reading the music in time, but his hands just weren't playing ball...

He felt himself getting more and more flustered as he struggled to keep up...and then. _..._

 _Twang._ A string broke.

"God _**damnit**_!" he yelled as he caught himself and resisted the overwhelming urge to throw the damn thing on the floor.

Rei held his breath...as did the other students, who were taken aback by the outburst as they all instantly stopped playing too.

Dan also felt worried...the last thing he wanted was for him to flip out in front of the class.

"Hey...happens to the best of us...easily fixed. You know where they are...you know how to change them, right?"

He nodded and kept his head down, coming out from the group and taking himself as far as he could to tend to his instrument.

He looked at the clock. Only fifteen minutes left...maybe he could just drag it out so he didn't have to go back up...

Rei watched him over his shoulder and felt himself sink...judging by his mood and the fact he was yet to even look his way, he guessed today didn't go well...

A few minutes went by and Dan also looked over his shoulder at him as he tried to continue with his class...it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to replace a string...he was milking it, but decided to leave him to it.

The bell finally went and Kai dashed out. The only positive today was that there was no choir practice...a bunch of the members had some kind of test after school, so it got rescheduled.

He took himself up to his room, knowing Rei probably wouldn't be done for another half hour or so...a small window for some peace.

He threw his bag down and slumped at his desk feeling miserable...

He'd get his first F in a test...in ancient history of all things...and he just showed himself up royally in music...in front everyone...and in front of Rei...could have given a chimp a violin and it would have sounded better than he just did...the two things he was really passionate about at school and he couldn't even do them right...

As for the morning...sure, today didn't involve being locked in a room with some slimy psychologist...nor did it equate to a panic attack like last time...this guy actually seemed rather approachable, and Dan thought highly of him...

…But he still came away from it feeling...

 _Hopeless._

He glanced over at his bag and figured while he had some time by himself...he should just get it over with and make himself more miserable.

He reached in and pulled out the envelope the doctor had given him, opening it up and pulling out the pamphlets he'd given him.

" _Controlling Anger – Before It Controls You"_

" _Anger – The Hidden Anxiety Emotion"_

" _Depression is More Than Just Sadness"_

He cringed...the titles alone made him feel humiliated...

He opened them up and spread them out, scanning over them all at once.

" _Anger is a normal, healthy human emotion. But when it flairs up all the time and spirals out of control, it becomes unhealthy..."_

" _Anger is rooted in fear. And fear is another word for anxiety. While not all anger is anxiety, if you take a step back, you might find in many situations that your feelings of anger are rooted in feeling anxious..."_

" _Freud used to describe depression as 'anger turned inward'. While this may be a very simplistic statement, there is no doubt that anger plays a big role in depression..."_

He skimmed through them all, not really interested in the explanations, but seeing what a pearls of wisdom they had about a _solution_.

What he read just confirmed what he thought...

He threw them back down on the desk and pushed himself away from the desk, taking off his jacket and tie and tossing them carelessly on the floor before climbing on to the bed.

He just wanted to be still for a while, feeling mentally and physically drained.

Rei came in about half an hour later, hobbling in on his crutches to find him fast asleep on the bed.

...4:30 and he was in bed?

He figured he was just worn out. He'd let him sleep a little while before he woke him up. He wouldn't sleep tonight otherwise.

Since the bed was taken, the only place for him to go was Kai's desk.

He settled himself in to the chair and swivelled around in it, looking around.

His eyes scanned the shelf just above his desk and he let out a little smile. His books were so neatly ordered and organised.

His eyes went to the desk and landed on the pamphlets scattered across it.

He picked them up and scanned the titles before looking over his shoulder to check Kai was still asleep...and then stopped himself. Setting them back down.

Kai wouldn't be happy if he just helped himself to these...this was private...Kai would tell him himself...

Instead, he picked up one of his textbooks, wondering if he would get any of it...he went with science.

" _Nope."_ he concluded after about 40 seconds of scanning graphs, diagrams and impossible to pronounce words before snapping it shut and putting it back.

He swivelled his chair back around and looked at Kai's sleeping form again and smiled.

He was so _clever_...he'd always known that, but since he'd been at the school with him, he'd come to realise just how bright he was.

His smile fell.

...Shame he wasn't...

He knew he wasn't _stupid._..he had common sense, but when it came to academics...it just wasn't for him.

...Kai probably needed someone who he could connect with on an intellectual level...someone who read long, boring books that he could talk to about...discuss the philosophical implications or...whatever smart, well read people talked about...

….He'd tried his best to read that Sherlock Holmes book...he _really_ wanted to get in to it so he could share that with him.

" _...impress him, you mean..."_ a little voice in his head mocked.

...It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the stories it was just...urgh, such a pain in the ass trying to read that old timey English...he had to keep reading it again and again to work out what the hell was going on...and ended up just giving up...he'd check out the movies...

He sighed before standing himself up again...he'd better wake the genius up...

He hopped over and sat himself on the edge of the bed before shaking him gently.

"...Kai?"

Kai stirred and rolled over, forcing his eyes open.

"Yeh?" he asked as he stretched himself a little.

"...you'd better wake up, you won't sleep tonight otherwise..."

"Mm..." he groaned out before making himself sit up.

Rei stayed where he was and waited a minute for him to come to.

"So...how'd it go today?" he asked, desperate to know...

Kai instantly looked away from him and rubbed his temples.

"...Sorry, Rei...my head is pounding...can we not?"

Rei's brow furrowed.

"...Got a headache?"

"That's what I just said, isn't it?" he said with annoyed sarcasm that stung him.

"...Yeh...sorry...you uh, want me to go get you something for it?"

"No." he said quickly before maneuvering around Rei and getting off the bed, "I just need some quiet and to sleep it off..."

Rei watched him turn his back to him and set out his sleeping bag on the floor before taking himself to the bathroom to change in to loose pants and a t-shirt. He didn't look at him when he came out, either, settling himself down and rolling over.

Rei sighed again and stretched himself out on the bed...this was going to be a quiet evening...

Maybe he could go hang out with Scotty or Reuben...or both...they were likely together and they'd invited him to hang out before...that would give him the peace he clearly wanted...he didn't fully believe he had a headache at all...he was likely just in a funk...

He'd give him tonight...but he'd get him tomorrow...he wasn't going to let him shut him out again...

He grabbed his crutches and hoisted himself up again, making his way around Kai and out the door, flicking the light off for him as he left.

As soon as the door closed, Kai curled in to himself.

The darkened room was silent apart from the sound of sniffing and hitched breathing.

* * *

End of Chapter!

I wanted Rei to go at him this chapter, but it was getting way too long! Next time!

I don't own Under Pressure or any of the music mentioned in this chapter.

Neither do I play an instrument...I do know Erlkonig (love it!), sounds ridiculously hard. Maybe too hard for high schoolers...I have no clue! If there are any musicians reading this and thinking I'm an idiot...let's just say they're incredibly talented lol.

Also: Huge Bowie fan over here. My absolute hero. Been wanting to throw him in to a story somewhere as a small tribute for ages. RIP Starman.

I hope you enjoyed it! I'd be really grateful for any comments!

Thank you for reading and I'll see you next chapter!


	15. Perfect

Hello hello hello!

Thanks to all those who reviewed! I really appreciate it as ever!

The last few chapters have been a little heavy on talking etc. This one is too...mostly. But necessary before we move on! I hope you enjoy it!

Let's get to it!

* * *

Chapter 15 – Perfect

"...Dan...is something up with Kai?"

Rei lifted his head from his pile of worksheets at hearing his name.

Mr. Rowan, Kai's ancient history teacher was stood at Dan's desk.

"Rei said he wasn't feeling well, so he's absent today...why do you ask?" he replied to him with a questioning raised brow.

"...Oh...well, he didn't seem sick yesterday, but I guess it might help explain this..." he said as he held up an almost blank piece of paper.

Rei couldn't see it from where he was, despite squinting and trying really hard...

Dan went wide eyed and took it from him.

"This was...unexpected..." Mr. Rowan continued, "even if he was feeling a little under the weather, I think he could do better than... _this_! I know he knows it...He usually goes above and beyond for this class."

Dan sighed.

"...Look, Andy, yesterday was somewhat...challenging for him. I think he just shut down...I don't suppose you'd let him retake it, would you? It being a class test and all..."

Mr. Rowan took the paper back.

"...I'm not really one for doing that..." he said as he fiddled with the paper, "but...I also know he's capable of much more...I'll think about it..."

"I'd appreciate that..." Dan said gratefully.

Mr. Rowan gave him a nod and went back to his own desk.

Dan lifted his arms up and stretched lazily as he looked up at the clock.

"...Damn it, no time to go see him before my meeting..." he grumbled to himself.

Rei steadied himself back on his crutches and hobbled over.

"...Mr. Harris?"

"Yeh, Rei?" he smiled at him.

"...I'm guessing he messed up a test?"

Dan's smile fell a little.

"...well...writing your name and 'I don't know' doesn't usually get you the best grade..."

Rei frowned. That wasn't like him at all...

And neither was him being bedridden by a 'headache'...

He went to bed super early last night saying his head hurt...this morning he flat out refused to get out of bed, claiming it still hurt...

He'd had a feeling...but now he was sure.

After a bad test and bad music class, someone was feeling sorry for himself and playing hooky...

"Rei...can I ask...how 'sick' is he? Does he look really bad?" Dan asked with a cocked brow.

...Apparently Dan saw right through it as well.

Rei merely gave a telling shrug...not wanting to outright say 'he's upstairs wallowing'.

Dan's face turned slightly annoyed.

"Mmhmm...I'll go talk to him later...first things first I have to...get grilled by the principle..." he whined.

Rei let out a smirk.

"Why? What you do?"

Dan caught himself.

"Uh...No, I didn't do anything just...discussing some teacher stuff..."

Dan took his leave and not long after, Rei left the teacher's room, too.

Dan wouldn't need to talk to him...because he was going to get there first and drag his butt down to class...

Kai lay on the bed. As soon as Rei left, he ditched the sleeping bag and got himself comfy.

He couldn't believe he was doing this...he'd ditched school for the day to...lay here.

This was a new low.

He jumped as he heard the door handle clicking and immediately rolled over.

It opened and Rei ungracefully hobbled in, trying to keep both his crutches steady and manage the door.

He got in and elbowed the door closed again before coming in, looking over him as he lay with his back to him.

"Nah, don't get up! I got it..." he said sarcastically as he set himself down in Kai's desk chair.

Kai opened his eyes, but stayed where he was.

"...Shouldn't you be in the teacher's room...?" he asked bluntly.

Rei arched a brow.

"Shouldn't you be in class...?"

"I told you...I have a headache..."

He swivelled around in the chair and lazily picked up one of his textbooks, licking his thumb and flicking the pages, glancing through them.

"Uh huh...you take anything for it?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"...Last night..."

"Huh...weird...you'd think it would have cleared up by now, then..."

He smirked as he glanced over and saw him tense up.

"...I guess it just didn't kick in..."

Rei let out several tuts.

"I'm sorry...that's rough...if it's that bad, maybe I should go get the school nurse to come up and take a look at you..."

He tensed up even more.

"That isn't necessary, Rei...just need some quiet and to sleep it off..."

Rei snapped the book shut, already bored with the charade and set it back down. He grabbed his crutches and hopped the few hops to the bed and flopped down clumsily on to it.

Kai was startled as his body bounced with the mattress as the sudden weight fell on it and he rolled over, finally making eye contact with a stern looking Rei, who kicked his bad ankle up on the bed and folded his arms.

"Maybe you're right...besides, I'm pretty sure medical science is yet to find a cure for _self-pity_..."

Kai scowled as he shifted his position slightly.

"The hell are you talking about, Rei!?"

"...Then again...maybe that screechy-ass violin right by your ear _would_ give you a bit of a headache...

Kai felt a jolt of both embarrassment and anger as he sat himself up and glared hard.

"What the hell is your problem!?"

"...or maybe it was the strain of writing three words on your test paper..."

Kai scowled even harder, feeling himself bubbling up even more.

"...News sure travels fast in that frickin' office, huh?!"

Rei rolled his eyes.

"Your teacher was asking Harris what got in to you...I overheard it. And frankly, I'm wondering that myself...is it really that hard for you to not know everything? Or not do something flawlessly right away? So much so you'll...mope in bed about it? I've never seen you be like this before..."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous!"

"I don't think _I'm_ the one being ridiculous here, Kai...I know you've always been driven and hard on yourself when it came to blading...you've always strived for perfection there. I always thought you put too much pressure on yourself, but hey, there were tournaments, stakes are high so I could understand...but this? It's a class test...so what if you fail one test? And it was a music class...you guys only started that piece two weeks ago! What does it matter if you had an off day?"

"Of course it matters!" he snapped back angrily at him.

"If it matters so much then why are you doing... _this_?!" he asked sternly, "If that test means so much to you, your teacher seems willing to let you retake it! Get your ass down there and do it again! And if you really can't handle not playing that music perfectly, go grab your violin and practice! Problem solved! But seriously...isn't it exhausting trying to be perfect all the time?!"

Kai growled and sat himself up, starting to move to get up and away from him.

"...I don't need to sit here and listen to this crap..."

Rei narrowed his eyes and quickly got on his knees on the bed, thrusting his hand out to Kai's chest and pushing him back down, towering over him.

Kai went wide eyed and stared up at him stunned as he unexpectedly got pushed down. Rei's disapproving face hovered over him as he rested on all fours, moving his hand from his chest to his shoulder before bringing his other hand to his other shoulder and pinning him down.

"I disagree! I think you do need to listen! And I also think you need to start talking!"

He knew he could get him off easily...but he didn't want to risk hurting his ankle.

"...Get _off_ me, Rei." he growled in a warning tone.

"No! I'm not having this! I'm so tired of having to sit and watch you do things like this! Now out with it, _Hiwatari_!" he said strongly, using Kai's own tone against him, "What's the matter?!"

"For the last time, Rei! I have a headache! Which you are _not_ helping!"

"Oh, don't give me that!" Rei yelled angrily as his ponytail slipped over his shoulder and dangled down on to the bed, "look me in the eye and tell me you're not moping because you didn't exceed your own expectations!"

Kai's hands came up and gripped Rei's forearms, resisting the urge to throw him off.

"That's _not_ it!" he yelled defensively.

"Then what?!" Rei asked, already feeling tired of asking the same thing so many times and getting nowhere, "What is it?! Why do I have to fight an uphill battle to get you to tell me anything, huh?! It's been this way since the start! I've been fighting with you to open up to me for three years, Kai, and gotten nowhere! Yet you'll open up to _Harris_ just fine and you haven't even known him a year yet! What the hell do I have to do to get you to trust me!?"

Kai grit his teeth, feeling his temper rising.

"I am not a fuckin' flower, Rei! I don't 'open up' to anyone! It's not that I don't trust you! It's just none of your business, like I've told you all a million times!"

Rei's face slowly went from angry to hurt as he started to grip in to Kai's shirt.

"...I'm not trying to make it my business...I just can't stand seeing you like this...Do you not think all this has an impact on the people in your life? On me...? Do you know how hard it is to watch you be all self-destructive and be absolutely powerless to help, because you won't let me? And you can deny it all you want...doesn't change the fact that you _have_ opened up to Harris...I've seen you lean on him when you need him...don't get me wrong, that's great, I just..."

He released his grip on his shirt and shifted himself to sitting again, his ankle resting to the side.

"...I just wanted to be another person for you to lean on..."

Despite Rei no longer touching him, he still felt pinned as he listened to Rei's speech.

He'd never intentionally hurt Rei...but apparently he had.

If there was one person he wanted to talk to about...everything...it was Rei...but he just couldn't bring himself too...

He was scared if Rei got too close and saw him for what he really was...he wouldn't want anything to do with him any more...it was bad enough he saw the anger fits and the panic attack...surely Rei lost respect for him after that...

And yet...here he was...

He sat up, feeling like he had to say something.

Rei turned his head to him, clearly waiting for a response.

He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, hesitating and struggling to come up with anything.

Rei continued to wait...before coming to the conclusion nothing was coming.

He sighed.

"...Fine...I've said my piece...I'll leave you to it...feel better..." he said sadly as he turned his back to him, moving his bad leg back over the bed and put his arms back through the loops of his crutches.

Kai panicked and reached out, grabbing his arm.

"Wait..."

Rei turned his head back to him and watched him move himself to sit next to him.

"Just...gimme a sec, will you?" he said nervously as he kept his eyes on the floor.

Rei waited with anticipation, unable to stop watching him as he set his crutches to the side again.

Several minutes passed, he looked so torn and deep in thought it actually worried him a bit.

"...It's not just the test or the violin..."

Rei's heart pounded.

"I mean...yeh...I don't feel good about it...but that's not why I..."

"...Skipped school?" Rei helped after he went quiet again.

Kai hesitated before nodding.

There was quiet again.

"...So why did you? That really isn't like you..."

Kai instantly got flustered.

"I don't know how to explain! It's a bunch of things and I...they just kind of rolled in to one and...", he stuttered.

Rei could feel how hard he was trying.

"...Don't overthink it...just say it."

He took a breath and finally turned his head to look at him.

"So...I went to the doctor yesterday...he seems much better than the last guy...it felt more relaxed at first 'cause he was just asking me about stuff I liked..."

Rei nodded, pleased to hear that.

"And then he finally got down to it and asked why I was there...and I just didn't know what to tell him...because there isn't one reason...there's a bunch of things...and while I was trying to pick one to start with, it dawned on me just _how_ many things there are..."

Rei smiled sympathetically. Although he knew he didn't see it that way, he was glad he'd finally realized that himself.

"...Which made me realize, it's just too late to start trying to fix it now...like if you break a vase in to a few pieces, you can glue it back together...but if you smash it to hell, it's just beyond repair..."

...that 'realization', Rei wasn't so pleased with.

"Oh, Kai...that's not-"

"Don't...let me finish, please..." he asked, not wanting Rei to try and convince him he was wrong.

He closed his mouth and let him continue.

"...Then finally, we go to the stupid anger thing and I'm telling him all about the whole thing with Griffin...and it was just _humiliating!"_ he said as he rested his head on his hands and ran them through his hair, "I had to explain to someone I'd never met that I lost it so bad I almost beat up an old man...because he called me a name...like some kind of feral animal!"

Rei's hand twitched as his voice got more and more upset with each sentence, wanting to reach out and put a hand on his shoulder, but he suddenly stood himself up.

He paced a little, before going to his desk and snatching up some small papers.

"Then he tells me we'll 'do something about it'. Like it's gonna be simple! He gave me these! 'Self-help' information!" he said with a raised voice as he held them up one by one, " _Anger – The Hidden Anxiety Emotion, Control Anger – Before It Controls You, Depressions is More than Sadness_?!" he reeled off in a sarcastic voice, "I read through them...wanna know what the best ways to manage anger are? _Exercise_...I do that! Daily! _Have a creative outlet._...I play two instruments! _Lead a healthy lifestyle_...I can't remember the last time I ate anything bad for you, and I sure as hell don't drink or smoke! All that leaves me with is...deep breathing, counting to ten and relaxing?! That's gonna fix it?!" he yelled out, exasperated.

Rei could only stare blankly as he went on his rant. His temper was flaring like he'd seen so many times before. But this time it was different.

"Oh! And before I forget, I told you I'd let you know about the panic attacks...well, I asked...and guess what! There's _fuck all_ anyone can do about it!" he yelled again, "I guess I'm just stuck with them! Who knows when they're gonna come on! Knowing my luck, during a tournament, during class...probably when we're on stage for that _fucking_ choir performance! Right in front of everyone to see just how _imperfect_ I am!"

He growled and ripped up the pamphlets in half before tossing them roughly to the floor.

"And you know what's even worse?! This doesn't even scratch the surface and it's already game over! There's nothing anyone can do about anything on my list of reasons for being in that office! So what the hell is the point of even going?! Unless he has some magical ability to go back in time and stop _him_ from _ruining my life_ , I'm stuck like this! It's not going to get better! I'm trapped! I'm...what the hell are you _smiling at!_?!" he yelled angrily with balled fists as he caught an ever so slight, soft smile on Rei's face.

Despite flinching a little at being yelled at, Rei kept his composure.

"...I'm not smiling, per se...it's just...it sounds like you're writing off the whole deep breathing and relaxing thing like it's worthless...but actually, it sounds like that's exactly what you need...I mean, take a look at yourself right now...you're yelling at me and look ready to snap and throw a punch at me..."

Kai's face immediately changed.

"I'm not gonna _hit_ you, Rei!" he protested, angry at the suggestion.

"I didn't say you were...I'm just saying you're getting yourself so riled up you look like you're gonna snap...take a breath."

Kai glared ever so slightly before huffing and doing as he was told.

Rei's smile grew.

"I can see you don't believe that that's helpful...but look, you're calmer already and all it took was a breath...I think you need to step back and see the bigger picture here. From what you just told me, it sounds like you're giving up because the doctor couldn't give you a black and white solution to all this...you're dealing with feelings here, Kai...they're not logical things that can be solved like a math equation..."

Kai huffed again.

"I know that!"

"...Do you? Because it sure doesn't sound like it...you said yourself you're up here feeling crappy because everything just kind of built up...and that's because you don't talk and you don't know how to handle it all. I kind of get why you're up here now...I thought you were just sulking over the test but...sounds like everything is just getting too much and that was a final push."

Kai struggled to come back with anything as Rei stepped forward and took hold of his shoulders.

"I think relaxing is exactly what you need...you feel like you need to excel in school, we just had a tournament, you've got that choir contest coming up...that's enough pressure before you even start with all that stuff you've got bottled up in you...you've got too much weight on your shoulders and you never let yourself set it down...and now your legs are starting to give way...be honest with me, what do you have in your life that you actually do just for enjoyment?"

Kai frowned.

"...I beyblade..." he said as if it were obvious.

Rei scoffed.

"Sure, you're passionate about it...but where's the enjoyment factor if you're so hell bent on being perfect at it? What else you got?"

Kai blinked.

"...Music."

Rei cocked a brow.

"...And where's the enjoyment in that if you take it hard when you don't get it perfect? Do you ever just play stuff because you feel like it? To hell if it's a little off?"

Kai paused before shaking his head.

Rei's smile got slightly larger to a point where a pointed tooth stuck out.

"I didn't think so...so there you have it. You read exercise helps with anger as does creative outlets and healthy living...and you do all those things but...you're way too strict with yourself! You put so much pressure on yourself to be perfect at it, it cancels out any of the good it would do. Why not try blading sometimes just for fun and not care if you win or if your technique was flawless? Why not play something because it's what you're in the mood for even if you hit a few bum notes? And...for gods sake why not eat a frickin' pizza once in a while and live a little!?" he said with a bigger smile as he shook him playfully.

To his relief, Kai huffed out a slight laugh and finally cracked a small smile.

"That's more like it...I can't remember the last time I heard you laugh, even a little..."

Kai smirked.

"...To be fair, I never was big on it..."

Rei smirked back.

"I know...maybe you should consider giving it more of a try...loosen up a little."

His hands slid from his shoulders to his arms.

"and...you shouldn't worry so much...I know that's easier said than done, but...all the pressure you put on yourself to be perfect...it's so unnecessary because..."

He suddenly found himself tongue-tied. He knew what he wanted to say, but couldn't bring himself to say it to him.

"...because you're..."

He lifted his eyes to Kai's, who was looking at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

...Those damn eyes that pierced him...the ones embedded in to his...stupidly handsome face...which sat beneath his wild, unique hair...which sat on top of his head that held his ridiculously clever brain...which was inside his perfect body...

"...you're..."

 _already perfect..._

Too late...his stupid brain had thrown him in to infatuation mode.

And now he had to come up with something else to say.

"...'cause you're clearly really smart and talented...you've got nothing to worry about..."

He mentally patted himself on the back...that was far less cringe-worthy than what he was going to say...good job.

Kai's face only changed slightly. An ever so slight, almost embarrassed but appreciative smile.

But as Rei had slowly come to realize over the years, if you looked closely, Kai's eyes spoke volumes. He knew he'd made him feel a little better, and that's what he'd wanted to do.

...But he wanted to do more.

Without a second thought, he leaned in and wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him in to a hug.

"...just don't give up, Kai...you're too brilliant."

Kai didn't know if it was the words or the fact he breathed that right in to his ear...or both...but his skin erupted in goosebumps.

… _Rei_ thought _he_ was _brilliant_?

As Rei's hold got a little tighter, he timidly brought his own hands up and gently placed them on his hips.

...Which made Rei realise what he was doing and made him pull away.

"So..." he laughed awkwardly as he clapped his shoulders, "how about getting dressed and getting your butt to school, huh?"

"Yeh..." Kai laughed back, equally as awkwardly, "...I should...yeh...sorry..."

Rei frowned a little.

"What for?"

"...I dunno...forget it...I'll just...hn..."

He quickly turned away and grabbed his uniform before taking himself to the bathroom to change.

Rei waited for him to get ready.

As he came out the bathroom, Rei did what he did every morning and subtly looked him up and down.

...it never got old.

"Ready?"

"Yeh..."

They wandered back down to the school. He'd make it just in time for second period.

He walked Rei to the staffroom to see him off. As Rei walked in, Dan clocked him through the door.

He immediately got up, looking stern and went to go after him.

Rei stopped him.

"It's all right Mr. Harris...I talked to him...he's going to class."

Dan couldn't help but smirk a little at how pleased he seemed to be with himself.

All right. He'd let him handle this one...as long as he was back at school...

Kai sat at his desk, trying to focus on yet another dull math class...but he all he could really think about was his conversation with Rei.

Had he told him too much? It had been so hard to start...but once he did things just...came out.

Did he whine too much?

Did Rei pity him now...?

Third and fourth period were the same...his brain half focused on the class...half went over and over everything they'd talked about...as well as some other things that were niggling at him.

As soon as the chime went for the lunch break, Kai took himself down the halls and opened the door of the music room and peered in. It was empty.

...Perfect.

He closed the door behind him and went to get out his violin, setting everything up before putting the sheet music on the stand.

He wasn't going to let this stupid piece beat him...despite his conversation with Rei...he just couldn't shake the need to...get it right.

He cracked his neck before putting the violin to his shoulder and the bow to the strings.

He started off well, but the beginning part wasn't the problem...it was a little further on he struggled with.

As he anticipated...he messed up.

He stopped playing and let out an irritated sigh before trying it again.

And again.

And again...

After the fifth time, he got frustrated and wound up.

"Urgh...fuck this..." he growled to himself as he took the instrument off his shoulder.

This _god damn_ piece! Why couldn't he get it right!? He should be at a level where he could do it, so why was he failing!?

His face softened.

" _Why not play something because that's what you're in the mood for, even if you hit a few bum notes?"_

A small smile crept on his face.

Rei was so well-grounded and balanced...he knew exactly how and when to switch off...and seemed much happier for it.

...Maybe he _should_ take a leaf out of Rei's book...he still wanted to kick this music's ass...but maybe it didn't have to be today...

"...Fine." he huffed to himself, "let's try it your way, Rei..."

He took the sheet music off the stand before heading to the large cupboard, where they kept all the sheet music.

He scanned the files before one caught his eye. Removing the file, he flipped it open and looked for the one he wanted.

He found it.

" _Chopin – Nocturne in C Sharp Minor"_

This was one of his favorites. It sounded just how he felt a lot of the time.

Which is exactly why he threw himself in to music class at school in the first place. Playing music was expressive without using words. He could pour his heart in to it, and no-one would ever know. And that suited him perfectly.

...But once again, not long after starting, it became just like everything else. A challenge he had to conquer and excel at...he had to get it spot-on before anyone else in the class.

Rei had been so right...he did strive to be perfect at everything...and it _was_ exhausting, but a life-long habit wasn't so easily broken...

He put his violin to his shoulder again and began to play.

As he did, his mind wandered.

Ever since he was little, it had been drilled in to him that failure made you worthless. The only place to be was the top, or you were nothing.

And that had translated in to every aspect of his life...not just blading.

Until now...it seemed.

He'd never let anyone near him, not wanting anyone to get close or risk getting in his way. He'd never shown his weak side to himself or anyone else, trying to deny he even had one.

...He'd _cried_ last night...like, really cried. He wasn't even sure what set him off. He just felt so... _bad_.

He'd had plenty of nights like that...but not to a point where he bawled...

Then poured his heart out to Rei today...and to Dan before that...he was seeing a psychologist for god's sake...so much for staying away and not showing your weaknesses...

He'd always been top of the class at school.

He just flunked a test...so much for that too...

He was slipping...

He wasn't perfect at all...and that was something he was always painfully aware of...but it was becoming more and more apparent recently.

No matter how hard he tried or how dedicated he tried to be, something was always just out of reach.

His chest stung as he continued to play.

...Maybe if he'd been better or tried harder when he was younger, Voltaire wouldn't have felt the need to so harsh with him and put him through what he did.

...And maybe if he'd been better when he was younger, his father would have thought he was worth staying for...

His chest got even tighter as his arm and body moved more fervidly.

Rei didn't understand...He _had_ to be perfect...

Despite wanting to be invisible to everyone, he also desperately wanted to be noticed at the same time.

He had to be perfect...because he needed the validation that he was worth something.

…Even though he didn't really believe he was...

If you took away the trophies and #1 off his name on the school ranking...what was there?

Just one...blank...guy that nobody gave a crap about.

The piece finally came to an end and he took his bow off the strings.

He jumped when a loud clapping came from behind him.

"Beautiful!" followed a familiar, overly enthusiastic voice.

He turned to see Dan's trademark grin.

"When the hell did you come in?!" Kai demanded, embarrassed.

"Not long after you started playing Chopin like a virtuoso!" he beamed proudly, "Here I was, innocently coming in to get some papers and BAM! You shot me with feel-bullets point blank in the chest! Made me well up a little...really..." he said with his grin still plastered on and dramatically fanned his eyes.

Kai shifted his feet.

"Sorry, I know we're not supposed to be in here, I was just..."

"What are you apologising for? I don't mind...besides, that was a real treat! That's one of my favorites!"

He looked at the floor.

"...I'm pretty sure I slipped up in places though...wasn't paying enough attention..."

"Pff! If you did, I sure didn't notice!" he waved away.

Kai tried to open his mouth again.

"HEY!" Dan interrupted, "That piece is supposed to be accompanied by piano! Wanna jam with me?!" he asked hopefully.

Kai forgot his wallowing and snorted.

" _Jam_ with you?" he mocked.

"Yeh! Come on..." he said happily as he dashed to his piano, "let's party like its 1839!"

"...Was that when this was composed?"

"I dunno...probably somewhere around then..."

Kai rolled his eyes before frowning.

"...Don't you need the music?" he asked as he looked at Dan, seemingly raring to go.

Dan shook his head.

"It's all right...I think I can wing it...if memory serves me right..."

Kai blinked.

"...oh...ok..."

Dan gave him a nod to tell him to get ready.

He put his violin back to his shoulder and Dan played him in.

The sound of strings came in, entwining with the sound of the keys.

It really did sound better as a duet...

He glanced over at his teacher in between reading the music. He made it look so effortless and seemed so relaxed.

It clearly didn't matter one bit to him if it was perfect or not...he just wanted to play.

...He'd played this a bunch of times...maybe he could do it without looking at the music, too...

He took a breath and made himself turn his back to the music stand and face the piano instead.

Dan flashed him a smile and the pressure seemed to be off.

This was...actually really nice.

They played out the piece until the very end...he'd definitely gotten some notes wrong here and there...but then so had Dan.

"That was fun!" he exclaimed as he stood himself up, "we should do that again sometime!"

"Hn...yeh..."

Dan smirked at him.

"...You know, if you can play this as well as you do...there's no reason you won't be able to play _Erlkoenig_...it'll just take time."

Kai raised his eyes to him and Dan arched a brow.

"...What? You don't think I know that's what you were doing in here?"

"...I just wanted to practice a little more..." he admitted.

"That's fine..." he said as he came around from the piano and approached him, "but you'll do much better if you stop letting _this_ getting in your way..." he said as he playfully poked Kai's forehead.

Kai flinched and batted his hand away.

"All right, all right...I get it..."

Silence struck. Something Dan hated.

"I like your attitude though...taking a break but not giving up! I don't know what made you pick Chopin...but I'm glad you did...brings back a lot of nice memories..." Dan said suddenly as his face lit up, "...it's what I played Charlotte to win her heart!" he told him nostalgically.

Kai felt himself almost gag.

"Pff... and she was in to it? Lame..."

Dan's beaming face darkened as the little twerp crapped on his romantic memory.

"Hey! They don't call be 'Dan the Romancer' for nothing, you know!"

"...No one calls you that..."

"...No, they don't...but sounds catchy doesn't it!?"

Kai pinched the bridge of his nose.

"HEY!" Dan grinned, "You could play it for Rei! He'll be all over you like a rash! Trust me, it works! Nothin' sexier than a musician!"

"...Can we not go _ONE DAY_ without you going there?!" Kai barked at him as he brought his hand away from his nose.

"No, no! I'm serious! Wait here, I'll go get him!"

In a shot, he was almost out the door and the color drained from his face.

"... _Don't you dare!"_ he yelled after him.

Dan grinned at him just as he was about to leave.

"Fair heart never won fair Rei-dy!"

….Oh Jeez, how long had he been saving that one up for?

...But anyway...

" _Harris!"_

Too late...he was gone...

And he couldn't exactly run down the halls screaming after him...

He wouldn't really go get him...would he?

What was he saying?! This was Dan! Of course he would!

Panicked, he frantically rushed to pack away and got the hell out of there.

Meanwhile, Dan chuckled to himself.

As tempting as it was, he wasn't really going to get Rei...he just had stuff to do...

Teasing him was his punishment for skipping off school...not that he needed an excuse.

Kai's panic only grew as he walked to fifth period...but for a new reason.

Ancient History...

Time to face the music...

Getting a paper back with a big, fat, red F on it...

He sat nervously at his desk as the other students filed in.

He watched the clock counting down the minutes until class started.

Two minutes early, Mr. Rowan came in and immediately met eyes with him.

He froze as he beckoned him and went back in to the hall.

Feeling everyone's eyes on him, he kept his head down and walked out.

Mr. Rowan turned his back as he came out and started walking, gesturing for him to follow.

...Great...the teachers room...he was going to get chewed out again..

He walked in after him and felt Dan and Rei's eyes on him...as well as the other teachers...

Why did people always have to stare!? He hated it...

He followed Mr. Rowan to his desk. He stayed stood as he sat down in his desk, swivelling round to face him and holding his nearly blank paper up.

"...Care to explain this?" he said in a tone that was...surprisingly soft for having fucked up.

He stayed quiet.

"...Can you honestly look me in the face and tell me you 'have no idea' how to answer this?" he asked, emphasising Kai's words on the paper.

He bit his cheek and shook his head.

"...I didn't think so...so what happened?"

He sighed inwardly...he didn't want to tell him, too...he didn't have that kind of relationship with him...or the room full of teachers...

So he shrugged.

Mr. Rowan's face softened.

"...Rough day yesterday, huh?" he filled in for him.

He paused before nodding.

"...I don't usually do this, but...I know things are tough right now...and I know just how capable you are...it'd be a real shame to leave this as it is...so you're going to spend this class redoing it. Think you can do it today?"

He didn't know if he was grateful or mad at the pity...

But nodded anyway.

"Good...now show me what you can do." he said as he stood up, slapped his back and pointed over to Rei.

"Use the desk next to Mr. Kon...you've got forty-five minutes...off you go..."

And just like that he walked off.

Kai watched him go before looking over to Rei, who smiled and patted the seat next to him.

...Great...

He made his way over and quietly sat himself down, quickly getting his pencil case out and pulling out a pen.

...Had he changed the question? What if he didn't know this one either...?

He turned the paper.

" _Ancient Egypt: New Kingdom Unit Test: What does the Temple of Karnak reveal about the roles of New Kingdom pharaoh?"_

He let out a slight sigh of relief...same as yesterday...

Now all he had to do was...answer.

He clicked his pen and set it to the paper, hesitating for a little while.

Rei subtly watched him...worried he couldn't do it again and subconsciously held his breath.

Until he almost saw the light bulb go above his head. His eyes bore in to the paper like a predator scoping his prey and his pen went to work.

Rei could breathe again...he knew he'd get it...

He went back to work, trying not to stare, but smirked as he heard the pen scratching rapidly against the paper.

He turned his head as he heard a slight slam against the desk.

He'd written a page and moved on to the next.

He quietly leaned over, making sure he was still focused on his paper and tried to read it, looking over his beautiful cursive handwriting...out of curiosity.

" _...Karnak's impact on New Kingdom pharaoh stems from the deity that it was originally constructed to honor. Amun, creator of the universe and King of the Gods._

 _The temple's importance resided in that it was seen as the contact point between Amun, supreme ruler of the universe, and the pharaoh, supreme ruler on Earth. From the beginning of the New Kingdom, each pharaoh lavished attention on the temple, adding more decoration, columns and other additions to the already grand temple._

 _This was done for a very specific purpose. By honoring Amun with such offerings, it ensured that their legacy would live on eternally through the ages, gaining them immortality._

 _This belief and desire for remembrance and eternal glory would greatly contribute towards the decline of the New Kingdom. By vastly increasing not only the wealth, but power to the priests of Amun, the position of the pharaoh was drastically weakened. By the end of the New Kingdom, the priesthood became so powerful, they were able to take control of the government of Thebes..."_

" _...Interesting..."_ Rei thought to himself as a slight pink hue crossed his nose and he went back to work before he got caught...

He smiled to himself proudly...glad to see he'd gotten some of his spark back.

Dan crept over a few minutes later, not so subtly looking over Kai's shoulder to see what he written.

He looked up, unimpressed with the audience and huffily turned his finished paper over so he couldn't read it.

Dan laughed silently and flicked the back of his head before making his way back to his desk, being followed by a hard glare.

Kai checked his watch before his pen picked up speed.

As the chime went for the end of class,he furiously finished writing his sentence before stabbing a period and dropping his pen, stretching his hand and fingers out and letting out a tired sigh.

"...Good job..." Rei whispered over to him.

"...Thanks..." he whispered back before picking up his paper, putting it on Mr. Rowan's desk and starting to leave.

"...Practice starts in ten minutes, Kai..." Dan called after him.

He huffed...Friday was always five periods instead of six...which was usually great...but now meant they had an extra hour to sing...

"Yeh, yeh..."

Rei chuckled, but felt bad for him...he really was busy. No wonder pressure was getting to him.

He really did need to just...stop and relax. Like they talked about earlier.

As he remembered the conversation, he had an idea.

He quickly looked over to Dan, who was getting ready to go to practice.

"Mr. Harris?"

"Yeh?"

"...I have a big favor to ask!"

"Sure...what's up, Rei?" he said as he walked over to him, save him hobbling.

"...Well, I know it's probably against school rules, but..."

As Dan listened to Rei's request, he smirked and gushed inwardly.

"...I'll see what I can do...what a thoughtful idea..." he said with a grin as he walked off.

A little over two hours later, Kai returned to his room and threw off his jacket.

Man, his throat was sore...

Another week over...thank God...

Well...almost...he still had a mountain of homework and a weekend of choir practice ahead of him.

He slumped at his desk...may as well get started now...

Rei came up a little while later and sighed.

"...You really gotta do that now?"

Kai looked up.

"Kind of...I got stuff to do this weekend..."

"...Not all weekend, surely...can't you leave it for later?"

"...If I get it done now, I can relax tomorrow...maybe..."

He huffed and settled himself on the bed.

A little while later, his phone buzzed.

He checked it and grinned.

"Hey Kai, you hungry yet?"

"Hn...getting there, I guess..."

"...Cool..."

Kai went back to his books.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

Kai looked up and frowned.

"...You gonna get that, or you gonna make me...?" Rei smiled at him after he didn't move for a few seconds.

Kai stood himself up and went to the door.

He opened it and Dan stood grinning, holding out a flat red box.

"...Hey! Happy Friday!"

Kai took it and started at it like it was an alien object and back to Dan.

"...it's a pizza, Kai..." he told him sarcastically.

"...I know...but...why?"

Dan shrugged.

"Courtesy of the nice gentleman on your bed..." he said before peering in to his room.

"Have a good night, boys!" he winked before walking off down the hall.

"... _Wheeeeen theeeee moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's amoreeeeeee_..." he sang as he walked.

Kai flushed as red as the box before throwing the door closed and turning back.

"...You ordered pizza?"

"Like I said...live a little..." Rei grinned at him, "I don't know what you like...but I know you love mushrooms so got a wild mushroom one...that ok?"

"Yeh...? Thank you?" he answered, still red...and still not really sure what to do.

"Well...don't just stand there...it'll get cold! Let's eat!"

Kai smirked and went to the edge of the bed to sit with him, cracking the box open.

"Oh my god, that smells good..." Rei drooled before taking a piece and sinking his teeth in to it, "oh _goddd_ it tastes as good as it smells." he groaned.

Kai laughed at him and took his own.

He wasn't wrong. It was bliss. He couldn't remember the last time he ate pizza.

"If only we could watch some crappy movie or something, this would be perfect." Rei added in between a mouthful.

"...I got Netflix on my computer?" Kai offered.

"...You had Netflix all this time and never told me?!"

"...I didn't think about it...sorry."

"What are you waiting for?! Set it up!"

Kai set his pizza down and got out his laptop, turning it on and putting it on the chair so they could see from the bed.

Rei took over and picked some light comedy show for them to watch before settling back and shoving more pizza in his face.

The slices gradually disappeared and before long, they both slumped back on the bed, stuffed.

"...Oh my god...I can't remember the last time I ate so much...I feel pregnant..." Kai groaned as he rubbed his full stomach that was pressing against his pants.

Rei laughed at him and did the same.

"Me too...good though, right?"

"Mmhmm."

"...Why don't you get in to your comfy pants? That belt can't feel good..." Rei laughed at him.

"...it does not..." Kai agreed before getting up and going to change.

When he came back, Rei was sprawled across the bed, comfortable while lazily watching TV.

Kai joined him again and made himself just as comfortable.

...This was really nice.

"...Thanks, Rei..."

"You're welcome..."

"...So this is _'Netflix and Chill'_ , huh?"

Rei instantly flushed...he clearly didn't quite know what that implied.

"...Um...yeh, kind of..."

 _...If only it was..._

Meanwhile, Dan sat in his room, sipping on a well-earned can of beer instead of looking over the papers he was supposed to be focussing on...he just couldn't be bothered. Fuck it, it was Friday!

Today had been somewhat stressful. Not only was the choir contest rapidly coming up...there was a school trip in between to plan and his meeting with the principle had left him even more torn about his possible transfer...

He shuddered.

...Ohhh he was going to be in the dog house with Charlotte about that...

His phone began to vibrate and he turned his eyes to the flashing screen.

" _Speaking of the beautiful succubus...here she is...oh boy..."_

He picked up the phone and took a deep breath before forcing one of his grins on his face.

"You raaaaaaaang?"

" _Hey honey!"_ a musical voice greeted him.

"Hey, baby! How was your day?"

" _It was good! …Well...apart from having a little attitude from Stella again..."_

Dan saw an opportunity for a diversion. Stella was another _older_ music teacher she worked along side. They did not see eye to eye and she loved to rant about it.

"No! Again? What did the sour old she-witch do this time?"

" _Ah, nothing serious. She just implied I was teaching something wrong..."_

"WHAT! The audacity! Tell me all about it!"

" _It really doesn't matter...so...how'd the meeting go?"_

"Sorry, sweety...I'm too mad at Stella...How _dare_ she! What happened exactly? Tell me in detail!"

" _...Dan. Focus. How'd the meeting go?"_

"I mean...to suggest you were doing your job incorrectly...makes my blood boil...I think you need to give me the full story to either calm my rage or make me go down there and hit her with her own trumpet..."

" _Dan. Meeting. How was it?"_ she asked impatiently.

Dan knew stalling wasn't an option.

Only one more card to play.

"You know...sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am to have such a beautiful, talented and incredibly _understanding_ woman like you..."

His entire body tensed as he was met with stabbing silence.

"... _DANIEL!_ " she yelled angrily down the phone.

"Baby, hold on! I can explain!"

" _Did you turn it down!? I swear to god, if you turned it down..."_

"But honey-"

" _Don't you 'but honey' me, Harris! More than ten years we've been together! It's about time we settled down a little and at least lived together!"_

"I know, bu-"

" _I said no but's!"_

"I can explain!" he interjected desperately.

" _Go ahead, Dan...explain. Explain to me why some kid is more important!"_

Dan went quiet and raised a brow.

" _...I didn't mean it to come out like that...but you know what I mean..."_

He sighed.

"I know...and I didn't turn them down...I just haven't given an answer yet..."

" _...He's not your responsibility, Dan..."_

"...I disagree..."

She sighed on the other end of the phone.

"Oh, don't tell me you forgot how attached you got to those kids in Venezuela...if you had your way, we'd have twenty adopted Venezuelans calling me _papi_..."

" _I didn't forget...it was awful leaving them behind...but that's part of being a teacher, you know that by now! Kids come, they worm their way in to your heart and either they leave or you leave...this is what I'm trying to tell you, he's a person, not a stray puppy for you to take in...you're his teacher, Dan...not his father..."_

He felt himself getting a riled up.

"I'm not trying to be! But God knows he needs _someone_! An adult! Some stability! If I leave, who's going to be here for him?!"

" _What about his actual father!? Or his mom!? Where are they in all this?!"_ she snapped back.

He rolled his neck...he vented to her about Kai often. About his temper fits at him, but also the positive steps he was making. He did, however, keep what he knew of his personal circumstances to himself. Which didn't help when he was trying to make the love of his life understand why he couldn't just up and leave.

"...I don't think they're around. I never hear them mentioned. By him or on the information I get."

" _...Neither of them...?"_ she said with a dramatically softer voice.

Dan let out a small smirk. He knew she wouldn't be able to resist a poor, troubled teenager much longer...

"Doesn't look that way...you know I can't go in to details, but the only family mentioned is in prison ...and probably the main reason he's in the mental state he is..."

He was met with silence again. And eventually another sigh.

" _Dan...I know you've made a connection with this boy and want to be there to take care of him...I think it's amazing what you're doing for him and I love you even more for it but...seriously...what about us?"_

Dan sighed back.

"Why is this our only option? I know it would be closer to you...we could finally get a place together and not live in these...dorms...but I like this school...the pay is better here than the other place...and I really don't feel right leaving Kai now...he's just started opening up to me. I'm finally convincing him he's not alone...if I leave now, what would that do to him? And he's just started seeing the shrink, too...I..."

" _...So what, Dan? He's in his first year...does that mean we have to wait another two years for him to graduate before we can be adults and settle down finally!? We're both pushing forty!"_

"...Why don't you look for another job around here? Stella drives you nuts, you've said you don't wanna be at that school forever...we could live together around here and that way I don't have to abandon my little fireball..."

" _...I don't know, Dan..."_

Dan rubbed his tired eyes...

If only she knew him like he did, she'd move here in a split second...then drive the kid nuts by fussing over him like a drunk aunt at a party at any opportunity she got.

He cracked another smirk at the image of her trying to squish him while he glared at her and tried to shove her off.

Seriously...if only she knew him...she'd adore him as much as he did.

The mischievous lightbulb appeared over his head.

That was it! It was so simple! Why had he never thought of this before?!

Once she'd met the moody, angsty little pistol, she'd be all over him!

"Babe! Come meet him!" he blurted out excitedly.

" _...What?"_

"Yeh! It's perfect! Just come meet him...get to know him a little! You'll see why I can't just leave!"

" _...Meeting him won't change my mind, Dan! Do you think I'm that much of a pushover?!"_

" _Yes..."_ he thought.

"No, of course not! But just...do this, for me? Then if you still think I should up and _abandon_ this poor, hurting, angry, lonely, anxious, _love-sick_ boy...then we'll talk."

" _Aww...your plan to make them roomies hasn't helped, huh?"_

Dan grinned.

...Of course he'd filled her in about his little crush, too...and all the shit he gave him for it...

"No...it hasn't...Ohhh! Hey! That's something maybe _you_ can help with!"

" _...you're not going to tempt me, Harris...and I hardly think me meeting him is appropriate..."_

"It's fiiiiine!" he protested, "Come on! Just do it! How about tomorrow?! You're coming to spend the weekend with me anyway! We'll go for lunch or something after practice...you, me and the angry little anxiety-ridden puppy..."

" _Dan-"_

"Come onnnnn! Pleasepleaseplease!"

" _How do you know he even wants to!?"_

"He does! He told me!" he lied through his teeth.

" _...He did...?"_ she asked, unconvinced.

"Yeh!"

He heard another sigh.

Crap...she didn't believe him...

...He needed to pull out the big guns...

"...Ohhh! Before I forget...guess what I caught him playing earlier...?

" _...What?"_

"...Nocturne in C sharp minor..."

" _...Aw, Danny...that's our music!"_

He smirked...she was being entangled in his web...

"...It is...he played it soooo beautifully, too...brought tears to my eyes...could really hear the sadness and longing in it, you know? ...Must have really put his heart in to it..."

" _Awwww...you think he'd play it for us...?"_

"Maybe!" he lied again, knowing damn well Kai would rather insert his bow in to himself.

" _...Oh! You should tell him to play it for Rei!"_

Ah...great minds think alike... _God_ he loved this woman.

"I did...but he's far too shy..."

" _...Awww...under that tough facade he puts on, he's just a shy little guy, huh?"_

Oh-hoooooooo...she was cracking...perfect!

Now for the final strike...

"Oh! And get this! Rei wanted to do something nice for him and give him a relaxing evening...you know, after all the _stress_ he's been under...so asked me to order them a pizza...they're having a little pizza date in his room right now!"

" _...Oh my Godddddd, they are!?"_ she gushed.

"Uh huh..."

More silence...

" _...All right, fine...I'll meet him...but don't get your hopes up..."_

He punched the air victoriously.

"Great! Let's go to our favorite place just out of town! You know the little place?"

" _...I know..."_

He almost squealed excitedly.

"Let's say 1:30 to be on the safe side?"

They made the final arrangements before hanging up.

This was going to be great!

…How would he get Kai to go along with it though...?

Ah, he'd do what he did best...bully him in to it or trick him in to it...

" _...I really am an exceptional adult..."_ he thought to himself as he proudly took another sip of his beer and let out a satisfied 'ahhhhh!'

Roll on tomorrow!

* * *

End of Chapter 15!

Kai finally opened up to Rei! Woo! But maybe not quite getting it yet...

And Charlotte is finally coming in to the picture!

For those who maybe forgot (it was a while ago...) she was mentioned in the birthday party chapter a while back...but I haven't had chance to bring her in since!

...Let's see how that goes, shall we? I'll go in to their story next time.

Also, I highly recommend listening to Chopin – Nocturne in C sharp Minor if you don't know it. Gorgeous piece of music!

Thanks for reading and see you next chapter!

As always, any comments appreciated!

See you next time!


	16. There's Two of Them

Hey all! It's been a while!

Thank you once again for everyone reading this and to those leaving comments! I appreciate it!

This chapter is a little long, parts are a little short and sweet because I didn't want to make it much longer. Actually, a Part 2 is going to follow! But I really hope you enjoy it!

A big thank you to LuxahHeart for her help with dialogue in this chapter! She's been a huge help with this story as well as my others!

Let's get to it!

* * *

Chapter 16 - There's Two of Them

 _Are you still watching?_

Netflix had been waiting for an answer for a little over an hour now, after the show had been playing for several hours.

...Not that it had an audience anyway.

Two teenagers lay at awkward angles across one single bed, eyes closed and passed out in a food coma.

Rei's head rested comfortably against the shoulder of the other, arms folded and tucked in to himself, while the other slept soundly with a hand resting on his ridiculously full stomach, his own head tilted and just touching Rei's.

Rei let out a sigh in his sleep and adjusted his position. This wasn't comfortable enough...

He shifted himself slightly closer to the warmth beside him.

A while later, Rei rolled over to his other side.

The loss of warmth in Kai's side made him roll over as well and shift towards him, pressing in to his back.

Throughout the night, whenever one moved, the other followed, seemingly glued to each other.

The alarm went off at 8am, causing them both to groan awake. Rei reached over and shut it off, pulling himself off Kai before he could even register he'd been nuzzled in to him.

"Why the hell is your alarm set so early on a Saturday?" Rei whined groggily as he sat himself up in the bed.

Kai blinked his eyes, waking up a little more.

"I have to sing like an asshole, that's why..." he groaned out equally as croakily as he stretched.

After sitting up, Rei became more awake, looking down at himself and then at Kai before chuckling.

"Guess we put ourselves in a food coma, huh?" he laughed. He was still in his clothes and neither of them had gotten in to the bed properly.

Kai finally woke up enough to notice what he was talking about and sat himself up quickly.

"Sorry..." he apologised awkwardly. That couldn't have been comfortable for Rei.

Rei waved it off...he didn't mind at all.

Kai heaved himself up and climbed over Rei, standing himself up and stretching again.

Rei enjoyed the view...

Kai turned to him, sleepily rubbing his hands through his hair.

"You need a shower before I do?" he offered.

Rei gave him a fanged grin.

"Hell no, I'm going back to bed." he said smugly before getting back under the covers.

Kai glared at him in jest before grabbing his uniform and taking himself to the shower.

Man, he wished he could sleep a little more...

He'd been knocked out last night. Slept the whole night without waking up. It had been a while since that happened. Even though he wanted more, he did feel a lot more refreshed than normal.

Maybe Rei was right, maybe he did need nights like that once in a while. Just relax and do nothing...

As he rinsed the shampoo from his hair, his eyes caught a glimpse of Rei's soap.

Despite being a wall between them, he looked over, scared he could somehow see before guiltily picking it up and smelling it.

 _God_ , it smelled good.

He quickly put it down again, making sure it was just how it was.

What kind of creep smells other people's soap?

He chose to ignore what he just did and finish up in the shower, he didn't have much time as it was. Choir practice started at 9.

He came out the bathroom, clean, dried and dressed in his uniform, making Rei subconsciously lift his knees up in to himself.

"What time are you done today?" he asked as he watched him putting his shoes on.

"Like, 10:30 I think."

Rei nodded.

"Well...have a good one." he said with a cheeky smile as he exaggeratedly made himself comfortable in the bed, earning him a look from the other.

"Oh, it's gonna be a blast..." he answered sarcastically, "enjoy being a lazy sack of shit."

"Oh, I will..." he smiled again as the door closed.

Kai made his way down to the music room, getting there a little earlier than the others.

They slowly drifted in and once again waited for the one that was always last...

"Morning boys! Sorry I'm late..." came the usual insincere apology from one Mr. Dan Harris.

"Now, let's get warmed up! We got three hours to really give her some!" he said enthusiastically at them.

Kai frowned.

"Three hours?" he questioned, getting a look from the others.

"Yes. Three. I told you." Dan frowned at him.

Kai continued to look at him blankly. This was news to him. _Three hours?!_

Dan scratched his head.

"Wait...were you here yet? I can't remember...anyway...today is a longer practice, all next week too we'll be doing an extra half hour or so every day, make up for the time we'll be losing for the school trip."

Kai's face paled.

Oh god...he'd totally forgotten.

Each class went on a stupid school trip for a weekend of education and bonding...

Apparently it was his class' turn...an entire weekend with people he didn't want to be around, doing things he didn't want to do.

That was next weekend?!

They'd mentioned it months ago. He hadn't heard anything since. Maybe he just hadn't been listening...

Either way. Shit.

Scotty slapped him on the back.

"It's gonna be awesome! One of my buddies in 1-1 went a few weeks ago and said it was great!"

Kai leaned away from him, not liking the friendly slap.

"Uh huh..." he answered, less than enthusiastic.

Scotty turned to Dan.

"Have you sorted the teams yet Mr. Harris?!"

Kai frowned harder.

Teams? Wasn't this some trip to a museum followed by a night sat around a camp fire singing _Kum Ba Ya_? ….And probably a lot more since Mr. Harris was their homeroom teacher...

That sounded horrific enough...why did they need teams?

He figured it wouldn't matter. Either way, he'd just go off by himself like he always did. No one would care.

Dan smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Still working on it, but don't worry...you'll be with your BFF."

Of course he was going to put Scotty with Reuben. Would be cruel not to.

His problem was the same two as always...

Who would he put Giles with...and who would he put Kai with...?

But that was a problem for later. Right now he had bigger things on his mind.

First was to get his choir sounding like they came from the heavens in order to melt some faces with beauty at the contest, which was coming up fast.

Second was to get Kai in a car to meet his beloved and make her fall in love with him so he didn't have to move.

Ya know...just your average weekend.

He got them warmed up before setting them up to start practising.

For the millionth time, they sang Bridge Over Troubled Water.

After playing with the arrangements a few weeks ago, he was finally happy with it. If they kept up the way they'd been going, they were going to sound perfect come the contest.

Especially if Kai could get comfortable being center stage with Scotty and James.

Ahhh, he was getting there, he'd be fine!

...He actually thought this could be a winning performance this year. The past few they'd been so close, coming second both times. This could be the year!

They finished and listened to his critique before singing from the top again.

And again.

And again...

And again...

They took a break after the sixth time, everyone feeling like their throats were going to explode.

...One hour down...two to go.

It finally ended, all of them looking exhausted. Mr. Harris included.

"...Good job, guys...see y'all Monday..." he said tiredly before waving them off.

He gathered up his sheet music before glancing around for Kai.

He'd already snuck off.

He panicked, looking at his watch.

He had to go find him and make this happen. Charlotte didn't put up with lateness...she was the only one he'd ever be on time for.

He ran up to the student dorms and knocked on the door, it opened to reveal amber eyes.

"Oh! Hey Rei! Is Kai here?"

Rei smirked and pushed the door open, the sound of gargling coming from the bathroom.

"...You really worked them today, huh Mr. H?" he laughed.

"No pain, no gain!" he laughed back before stepping in.

Kai came out a few moments later, frowning and huffing when he saw his teacher in his room.

"What did I do now?" he asked defensively.

Dan rolled his eyes.

"Nothing. Get dressed, we gotta go out."

Kai frowned back.

"What? Where?"

"Just do as your told." Dan shrugged.

Kai cocked a brow, like that was going to happen.

Dan sighed.

"Please?"

To his (and Rei's) surprise, Kai actually nodded and went to grab a change of clothes.

That was easier than he thought...

"This gonna take long?" he asked, unimpressed before stepping in to the bathroom.

"Nah, not that long!" Dan answered cheerfully.

He nodded again and huffed before closing the door, leaving Dan to sit and chat with Rei while he waited.

Even Rei was curious where he was taking him, but the guy wasn't budging an inch.

Ten minutes later, Dan got impatient.

"...How can it take this long to get changed?"

Rei snorted and drew triangles on his cheeks with his fingers, causing another huff from Dan.

"For god's sake..."

Five minutes later, Kai came out the bathroom looking like Kai. Blue triangles and scarf ready for...whatever the hell this was.

Dan checked his watch before jumping up and grabbing him by the arm, speedily yelling goodbyes to Rei and almost running with Kai down to his car, yelling at him to hurry up.

As soon as their seatbelts were clicked in, he started the engine and drove out of the school.

"You mind telling me what the hell you're up to?" Kai growled at him, not enjoying the hurry and the mystery.

Dan paused before putting the child lock on the door.

"We're meeting someone!" he said with a forced smile to hide his fear.

"Who?" his student's deep voice asked dryly.

There was quiet.

Kai's eyes narrowed.

"...Mr. Harris?" he questioned sternly.

Dan turned to him and forced his grin.

"We're meeting Charlotte!" he said in a slightly cracked, high pitched voice.

Kai's face fell flat.

"Charlotte?! As in your _girlfriend?_!"

"The one and only!" he beamed back.

As soon as they stopped at a light, Kai made a break for the door, trying to get it open.

It wouldn't budge.

Dan patted himself on the back for knowing him well enough to know he'd actually try and run.

"What the hell?! Let me out! Why the hell would I have a need to meet _your_ girlfriend?!"

Dan laughed awkwardly. He was yet to come up with a good enough excuse.

"Ahhh come on! It'll be fun!"

"The hell it will!" he argued as he tried his best to get the door to open.

He felt a hand touch his shoulder, he turned to look at Dan's pleading face.

"It would really mean a lot to me..." he said genuinely.

Kai rolled his eyes...he looked pitiful.

But he let go of the door and sat back, arms folded and sulking.

...And nervous.

After a tense 20 minute drive, (Dan decided against playing music this time...) the car pulled in to a small parking lot.

Dan practically dragged him by the sleeve from the car to the restaurant. Both feeling their stomachs burst in to jitters.

Why the hell did he have to meet his stupid teacher's girlfriend anyway?!

Ah yes. Of course. How silly of him...it was because Mr. Harris had chosen him to be his target for _torture_.

He could only hope she was somewhat normal. Be the yin to his yang. Balance out his...frickin' weirdness.

...at the same time, what sane woman would willingly date Dan Harris?

They stepped in to the restaurant and Kai looked around, his nose uncontrollably wrinkling.

This place was...definitely where middle aged people came for a date.

There were table cloths for goodness sake. And a blackboards with the menus written in chalk.

A plump waiter came to greet them and took them over to their table.

He looked around as they sat down. It wasn't overly busy in here. That was something...

Dan caught him looking around.

"Nice place, huh? We come here all the time!" he told him.

"Uh huh.." Kai replied, unimpressed. Why was he here again?

Dan looked at his watch.

"She'll be here any minute, I'm sure..."

Kai rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, why am I here?"

Dan looked offended.

"To meet the woman of my dreams! The light of my life! My reason for living!" he said in a light but dramatic voice.

His student quirked an annoyed brow.

"And I'm meeting her...why?"

Dan shrugged.

"I met yours...figured it was only fair you met mine."

Kai choked on the air in his throat and felt his face burst in to flames.

"You listen to me! You say any crap like that around her and I swear to _God_ -"

"Daaaan!"

Their heads turned, following the musical voice to spot a woman waving and walking towards them.

Kai looked her up and down.

She was a medium height, slim woman with shoulder-length auburn hair.

She looked presentable, a long black coat that stopped at her knees, just before her black, slightly heeled boots.

Dan face lit up and he instantly stood himself from the chair.

"There's my girl!" he cooed as he walked towards her.

Kai felt his stomach churn as he watched him go to her, the two meeting a little way away from the table. He flung his arms round her and kissed her cheek several times, causing her to giggle before kissing him back.

This was revolting already...

Not only his public display...but that she seemed in to it.

That just set off alarm bells. His hopes that she was a normal person were crumbling to dust before his very eyes.

Ah shit...she made eye contact with him.

She peeled herself off of Dan and made a B-line for him.

He suddenly felt like a gazelle being stalked by a lion. Trapped and helpless.

He nervously stood up, feeling he should be polite...why, he wasn't sure. It was just Dan's girlfriend, after all..

She got closer and closer, Dan shortly behind her.

She was suddenly a suitable distance away.

"Uh...Hi...I'm-"

An unexpected impact on his body cut him off.

Her arms were round him.

His personal space well and truly invaded.

Oh god, her arms were round him...

He froze, his entire body going rigid as he wondered what the hell he should do.

Dan was tempted to get his phone up as he inwardly died laughing. The look of awkward discomfort on his face was priceless.

She pulled away slightly, but not before placing a European-style kiss on his cheek, causing him to wince as he felt a hot stab of half-fear, half-outrage jolt through him.

She kept a tight hold on his shoulders as she looked him in the face.

"Hey Kaaiiii!" her voice squealed out, like she was talking to a puppy, "I'm Charlotte!"

Kai felt his body automatically lean back, trying to get some distance from her. He felt like her eyes were trying to read his soul.

"...Hello..." he mumbled out timidly.

A sound left her throat...just like she'd seen a cute puppy. He wasn't enjoying feeling like a puppy...

He was a...fully grown Doberman, damnit!

Her hands let go of his shoulders and went to his face, pinching his cheeks gently but firmly.

"Ooooh! Aren't you handsome! _**Dan**_! Why didn't you tell me he was this handsome!?" she called over her shoulder.

"Dudes don't say things like that, honey..." he said from behind her as a chuckle slipped out from seeing the look of horror in Kai's eyes as his woman still gripped his face.

She finally let go and frowned as she noticed a hint of blue on her fingers.

She looked at his face and the beaming light from her face fell apologetically.

"...Oh, sorry honey...I may have..." she stuttered as she noticed she'd slightly smudged the...unusual paint on his face.

Kai's face grew even hotter as he clicked what she meant, unable to see the damage she'd done.

Her face brightened again.

"Don't worry! I didn't mess it up much! Come here, I can..." she said as her thumb went to his face again.

As if he'd been jabbed by a cattle-prod, he jumped back.

"It's fine!" his voice cracked, desperate to get away, "I'll just..."

He didn't even bother finishing his sentence. He just went to the bathroom.

She watched him go, bewildered.

"Jumpy little guy, huh?" she said to Dan.

"...I mean...you were in his face...literally..." Dan smirked.

"...Too much?" she asked sadly, afraid she'd scared him.

"No! Not at all! He's just shy!"

It wasn't long before Kai returned. She was right. She hadn't damaged it much, just a slight smudge. Nothing a paper towel couldn't fix.

They were still stood when he came back. He wondered why.

"Are we going to sit down, or what?" Charlotte asked happily.

Kai's eyes widened.

Maybe she had read his soul...

Dan agreed took the lead, sitting himself at the round table.

Charlotte unbuttoned her coat and removed it as Kai walked behind her. He didn't know what possessed him to do it...but he pulled out the chair for her.

Her brow furrowed lovingly.

"Ohhhh aren't you sweet!" she gushed before shooting a look at Dan, "You see this, Harris? This is how you treat a lady!" she scolded playfully.

Kai flushed and quickly abandoned his gentlemanly duty, sitting himself down.

He kept his head down and avoided eye contact with her as much as possible as they got settled down. Luckily she was busy talking to Dan about her week, like he wasn't there.

...Perfect...he was spending his Saturday as a third-wheel at a date...with his teacher.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

He looked up. The love-birds were still talking, so he figured it wouldn't be rude. He slipped it out his pocket and felt a small involuntary smile crack.

 _Rei: Hey! Where did he end up whisking you away to?_

He glanced up again to make sure they weren't looking.

 _Kai: For some reason I'm currently at some restaurant with him and his girlfriend? FML, right?_

Moments later it buzzed again.

 _Rei: What?! No way! Why?! I mean, it's nice I guess! But what's she like?!_

Kai hesitated...he didn't have it in him to tell him about the hugging and face-smooshing.

 _Kai: Seems friendly. But too soon to tell. Will let you know._

 _Rei: I'll be waiting! XD And be nice, OK? I'm sure he's doing it for a good reason._

 _Kai: When am I not nice?_

 _Rei: ….._

He smirked and felt his chest flutter.

"Is that Reeeeiiii?"

That smug-ass voice brought him back to reality and his head shot up. Like he'd just been caught doing something he shouldn't.

"N-no! I was just...you were talking..."

Dan let out a smug laugh.

"That was Rei wasn't it!?"

Kai's eyes shot nervously to Charlotte before glaring powerfully at Dan, mentally yelling at him to shut his stupid mouth before he shut it for him.

Charlotte kicked Dan's leg under the table. The poor thing looked mortified.

They'd get to that in due time.

"Seen something you want to order, sweety?" she said kindly, politely ignoring the mention of his little crush.

Kai panicked, setting down his phone and looking down at the menu. He hadn't even looked yet. He didn't want to hold them up.

"What's good here?" he asked.

She beamed again and leaned over, pointing out her recommendations.

"I'd go with this one...this one...or this one. Maybe the chicken, huh? You athletes need your protein, right?" she said before scoffing at her own words, "not that you need any bulking up! Look at the arms on you! Ah! I can't take it! I bet you have your pick of the girls!" she gushed again, "...and boys!" she corrected herself.

Kai's face burned with embarrassment before once again glaring daggers at Dan.

...Now, why would she feel the need to say 'and boys'?

That piano-playing shithead had nothing better to do than to tell his woman about his student's love life?!

Dan's face held on it it's innocent 'What, me? Never...' expression as he also picked up his menu.

"Uh...not exactly..." he replied bashfully.  
Her face lit up with bewilderment.

"And why ever not? Look at you, you're so handsome. Just like you, honey." she said cheekily as she threw a wink at Dan.  
He flashed her his trademark grin.  
"You've got good taste, I'll give you that."  
Kai rolled his eyes before clearing his throat. He didn't like this conversation at all.

"I'm not really interested..."  
She arched a brow.

"I would hope not, we're a bit too old for you. Isn't that right dear?" She said with a musical laugh, knowing full well what Kai had meant, but wanted to ruffle his feathers a little some more. He was just too damn cute when he pouted.  
Kai flushed. He had no idea how to respond to that.  
Luckily, Dan took offence.  
"Who are you calling old!? I am a man in my prime!"  
She nodded her head in agreement, letting out a slight smirk at the thought that had crossed her mind. One she wouldn't dare voice with a minor present.

She leaned on her elbows and faced Kai head on.

"So, tell me a little bit about yourself then. What do you like to do outside of school and all? What are your classes like? Is this your first time in a private school? Have you made a lot of friends?"  
Kai blinked a few times.

That was a lot of questions...  
"I beyblade...and no...I've been there since junior high."  
Her brow lifted again as she leaned in closer.

"That's all you do outside of school? You don't like going to the arcade and stuff? What about cafes, there's a lovely one just down the road from here, have you ever been?"  
He shrunk in to his seat. This woman is full on.

"N-no not really...and no..."  
Dan shifted in his seat, smiling slightly as he listened to his woman throw out speed-round questions at him, while he looked like a deer in the headlights.

He also leaned on one of his elbows lazily.  
"Kai here is kind of a serious dude...too busy studying for fun."  
Her eyes seem to brighten as she perked back up into her seat, no longer crowding the poor boy into a corner.

"Oh, so you're a man of wisdom. Who do you like to read? What's your favorite novel? Are you familiar with Shakespeare's plays? I just love Macbeth." She said in a dreamy sigh.  
Kai nodded, feeling like he could breathe a little more.  
"Yeh that's a good one...um...all kinds really."  
"Well, what are you currently reading?"

Dan's head came off his hand and lifted a questioning brow at his lady. This was news to him...  
"Since when are you in to Shakespeare?"  
She turned her attention to him **.**

"Just recently really, I happened to catch Leonardo on TV a few nights ago in Romeo and Juliet. Such a sad story really. So I decided to look up the other plays."  
He looked at her adoringly.  
"Aw, a curious one aren't you my sweet?"  
Kai held in a gag...  
She smiled warmly at him.

"Those plays are wonderful to read. Tragic, most of them, but still wonderful. But again Kai, what are you currently reading?"  
He cleared his throat and felt a little embarrassed by his answer. Only because he was currently re-reading his favorite...Rei had bought him a first edition of it for his birthday.

"...Hound of the Baskervilles..."  
She blinked at him a few times.

"I don't think I've heard of that one."  
"...You ever heard of Sherlock Holmes?"  
She nodded her head. "I've seen the movies. Robert is quite the actor." She said with a wink.  
He couldn't help but smirk a little...she likes the movies, huh?

But her eyes had been boring in to him and she'd barely blinked. It was freaking him out a little  
"So..." he started as he scrambled to think of something to ask to take the attention off himself. "Uh...you're a music teacher too, right?"  
A bright smile widened across her face. "I sure am!" she answered before turning to Dan quickly, holding a hand up to cover the side of her face, to hide it from Kai's view.

"You told him about me?" she mouthed to him.  
Dan did the same.  
"Of course...just a little." he mouthed back.

Kai looked between them, wondering what the hell this was...did they really think he couldn't see this?  
"Sooo...how-how's that working out for you?" He asked awkwardly.  
She recomposed herself back in her seat.

"It's going quiet well. If not for a certain someone..." She said through slightly grits teeth as she clenched her napkin between her hands and wrung it out a little. Flashbacks of Stella getting on her case running through her mind before she transformed back in to a smile.

"But, that's not important. You don't want to talk about little old me, tell me about you. You like the Sherlock series? Weird looking guy, that Benedict, but in a good way!"  
Kai flushed a little more, feeling uncomfortable. He was starting to feel warm under the collar. He didn't like all these questions. He wanted to leave so bad.

He glanced around quickly. The sooner the waiter came, the sooner they could get this over with.

"Yeh...I do."  
She nodded before looking to be in thought for a moment before glancing at both of them.

"Then what on earth is Sherlock Who? I was on the internet trying to find that new trailer for the movie, and all I could come up with was Sherlock Who."  
They both looked at her blankly...what the hell was she talking about?  
Kai wondered...

"D...do you mean Dr Who?  
She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure. Is he in the books?"  
He couldn't help but let a slight snort slip. That amused him.

"No...he's not..."  
Dan gave him a look for laughing at his sweet, beautiful woman.  
She gave off a slightly agitated look.

"Then who is he?"  
"That's some old...British show about a time traveller. They're not linked." he explained.  
"Oh..." She said with her mouth in the shape of a perfect o as she nodded, feeling a little embarrassed for being so out of touch.

"Don't believe everything the internet tells you then."

Kai felt bad as he sensed she felt a little silly for not knowing.

"Um...If it makes you feel better I have no idea what everyone else in my class talks about either..."  
She sat herself up and gave him a sympathetic look.

"You don't have many friends then, do you?" she asked almost pitifully, causing the younger boy to shift uncomfortably in his seat.  
"Not really..."  
Dan shot up in his seat. "He's getting there though!" he piped up protectively, causing Kai to glare at him once again. He wasn't a little kid...  
"Well that's good to know at least, life is too short to go it alone." she said with yet another warm smile.  
Dan nodded in agreement.

"Well said, sweety...gotta pee..order for me if the waiter comes. You know what I want." he said as he casually stood off and walked off.  
"Of course, and wash your hands." she called after him.  
Kai felt even more tense...now they were alone...not that Dan was much frickin' help anyway.  
He watched her as she busied herself with her compact mirror she pulled from her purse and checked over her make up and lipstick, after touching it up she put it back and put her elbows back on the table, turning back to Kai. This time there was a fire in her eyes as she looked at him.

"So tell me Kai, what do you think of my Daniel?"  
His breath caught in his throat yet again. He couldn't very well be mean about him to his lady...but he wasn't going to kiss his ass either. He flushed hard and shifted in his seat...which he felt like he'd been doing constantly since his ass touched it.

"He's all right...I guess...had worse..." he answered quietly as he avoided her eyes..she looked intense.  
She frowned.  
"Just, alright? Really now?" She asked in almost a patronizing way, her eyes squinting a little as she stared harder at him.  
He almost felt a sweat start to break.

"Well- I mean...ya know...he's all right...he sure likes singin' huh?" he laughed awkwardly, trying to change the conversation.  
She squinted her eyes more, not taking the answers he was giving her. After all Dan had done for him, she wasn't satisfied with just 'alright'. Dan had gone above and beyond for the boy, and it would be an insult if he didn't come up with something better than 'alright'.

"Is that really how you feel about him?" she asked almost sadly as she settled back into her chair. The fire gone from her eyes as she looked at the table with sadness.  
He sniffed, annoyed, and folded his arms tighter. Letting out a mumble under his breath.  
She frowned hard.

"If you are going to speak then do it properly." she barked at him in a teacher voice.  
He startled before composing himself and scowling.

"I said he's the only one I like in that damn place..."  
Her face and eyes softened as she gives him another smile.

"Is that so? And why is that? Besides the fact that he is perfect in every way possible, of course." she near enough gushed out.  
He rolled his eyes. This was painful.  
"...He's a nice guy."  
She let out a dreamy sigh.  
"He is, isn't he? Just perfect really... What else do you like about him?"  
He cringed.  
"Ahhhh jeez...ma'am, guys don't talk like this..." he whined.  
She pouted at him.

"For someone who has done all they can for you, you sure don't show a lot of gratitude."  
Kai's face and heart fell completely.

He _was_ grateful...

But more importantly...how much did she know? Dan had been flapping his gums again?!  
"...and what would you know about that?" he said with a stern expression.

She cocked a brow at the look he was giving her.  
"All I know is that Dan likes you very much, and has stretched his neck out to keep you from getting expelled from that school."  
He felt ashamed and defensive at the accusation of being a brat...which quickly ignited anger.

"Yeh, well, he won't have to put up with such an ungrateful pain in the ass much longer, will he!?" he snapped with a raised voice.  
Her eyes widened at the outburst. She knew from what Dan had told her he had a temper problem. The last thing she wanted was to set him off.

"Don't use such language, we are in public." She hissed out in a whisper, motioning for him to settle down. "There is no reason to go off like that, not here at least. And whoever said he was leaving? Where did you get that idea from?"

She knew the drill when it came to transfers all too well. No one, staff or students, were to know a thing until it was confirmed. And when it was, it was to be kept quiet until the last two weeks.  
He grit his teeth. "Don't patronise me! And don't play stupid, I know he's transferring so what the hell does it matter if I like him or not!?"  
She gave him a saddened look. If only she could tell him Dan had set this whole thing up in an attempt to stay at that school...just for him. Dan denied that's what this was, but she wasn't an idiot.

"It matters...a lot." she said with a softer voice, "I don't know all the details, but what I do know is that he really does care for you. In a way I've never seen him be with a student before. When he talks about you, it's like he's talking about the son he doesn't have..."

Every organ in his body clenched. Her words stabbing him in the chest and fuelling his anger.

"Well he shouldn't bother! I'm _not_ his son! I'm nothing special, I'm just like every other guy in that place! So you can tell him to butt out! He sure as hell doesn't listen to me when I tell him to!" he continued to yell.

She sat and watched him, the fire and anger in his eyes flickering with sadness as he went off.

"If I believed that's what you really wanted, I would...now settle down. The last thing you want to do as a public figure is cause a commotion..." she said calmly as she nodded subtly in the direction of the table not too far to their left.

His eyes simmered down and composed himself, looking around to see if anyone was looking. They weren't...he didn't care that much if they were...but he just realised he'd only met this woman, someone incredibly important to Dan, for less than half an hour and had already let his temper ruin it.  
"...I'm sorry." he said quietly but sincerely as he once again sank in to his seat.  
She sighed and patted his hand.

"It's alright. I'm sorry too, for prying the way I have been. It was wrong of me."

There was quiet for a few moments.

He took in a breath.

"...And Mr. Harris, he..."

She looked up, meeting his eyes and frowning, concerned. He looked like he was getting ready to confess a crime.

"...well, he- I mean he always-"

"Heeeey! What did I miss?!" came said man's cheery voice.

Kai ripped his eyes away from her and stared down at the table.

Charlotte held in a sigh. Her man sure knew how to pick his timing...

"Hardly missed anything darling, Kai was just telling me about all his classes he has at school."  
Dan grinned again as he sat himself down.

" Did he tell you how great mine are?!"  
"We were just getting to that one actually." She said with a sweet smile, turning to Kai.  
Kai cringed in his seat... he really didn't want to do this. It was bad enough he was about to say something stupid to her...let alone blow up his ego even more as well.  
Dan dramatically plopped his elbows on the table and rested his head on his hands, still grinning "Were you now?  
Charlotte could see Kai is struggling to say something back, and so she tapped Dan's hand.

"Would you go get Sylvia? At this rate we'll waste away!" she joked.

Dan beamed and jumped back out his seat. Sylvia was an older waitress, probably pushing retirement. But she _loved_ him...probably because he flirted with her.

As he walked off, Charlotte looked back to Kai and knew immediately he wasn't going to continue what he was saying. She'd wanted to hear it from him. That was the whole point of this after all. Despite knowing from Dan he wasn't exactly the kind of boy who wore his heart on his sleeve, she'd wanted to hear it come from his mouth. But the look in his eyes just now during his little outburst told her a lot more than words could.

Maybe the feeling was mutual.

She put on a smile.

"I am curious though, what is your favorite subject?" she asked, trying to change the subject and get him to look at her.

He held his ground and kept his eyes down, tensing up.

She waited. The moments of silence making her think he was just going to ignore her.

"...Music." he said finally and quietly.

Her smile grew. It was mutual.

He came back a few minutes later.

"She'll be here any minute. Looks like they have a big group in the back room." he informed them excitedly as he sat himself down once again.

She nodded before continuing to make small talk with Kai. Asking him questions about himself and getting short answers back.

She caught a glimpse of a familiar face heading towards them and let out a smirk.

Dan's own crossed his face and his eyes twinkled as he felt a wrinkly hand touch his shoulder.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting! Party of ten in!" came a sweet older voice.

Kai lifted his head to look at the source of the voice. An elderly, ever so slightly hunched over woman who was probably a little too old to still be waitressing. Her hair pure white and whispy, tied up in a bun. Her eyes a light blue that sat in her wrinkled but kind face. Her lips painted a pearly pink.

Dan pretended to startle and turn.

"I thought I'd been touched by an angel...and it turns out I was right!"

Kai's eyes shot to him and pulled face. What fresh hell was this?

The older woman giggled and blushed.

"Oh, come on now, you tease!" she laughed as she hit him with her order pad, "what can I get you today, Danny?"

He gave her a flirtatious grin.

"You know darn well there are two reasons I come here...the steak being one and the other being something _much_ more tempting..." he said as he winked at her.

Kai's face held a look of disgust.

She blushed even more and giggled behind her order pad like a schoolgirl before writing it down.

"Same to drink as usual?"

"Yes please, beautiful!"

"Oh, he is such a flirt today!" she laughed, "you'd better keep him on a tighter leash, Charlotte!"

Charlotte laughed back. Every time they came here, he flirted with her shamelessly...it was adorable to watch the sweet old lady get a kick out of it.

Sylvia's eyes went to Kai...she hadn't met him before. She didn't realise they had a son.

"And what can I get you, young man?"

He glanced over the menu again. He knew what he wanted...but after binging on pizza the night before, he should probably lay off the carbs.

"Could I get the chicken...but could you do it without the potatoes?" he asked politely.

"Of course, sweetheart! Would you like to substitute it for something else? Our broccoli with melted butter is to die for!"

He smiled at her.

"Sounds perfect, thank you."

"How about you Charlotte?" she asked as she turned.

Charlotte looked from Kai to the sweet old lady with a small smile and a twinkle in her eye.

"...My usual please."

She nodded and wrote it all down.

"Comin' right up!" she said before thwacking Dan again with her order pad, "And don't you go givin' these fine people any trouble while I'm gone, you hear?" she teased before walking off.

Dan turned in his seat.

"And don't stay away too long...miss you already!" he called after her.

"Distance makes the heart grow fonder, honey!" she called back.

Dan turned back around in his seat chuckling.

"Ahhhh, that little minx."

Kai scowled. He was so embarrassing...

"So Dan tells me your quite the violinist!" Charlotte said excitedly as she leaned forward again. "How long have you been playing? What made you choose it? Anything in particular you like to play?"

Again with the million questions at once...as nice as she was, this was exhausting.

"...Uh...like three years...and I guess I like to play all kinds..."

Dan suddenly lifted his head as a joke came to him.

"You know what composer was really in to tea?"

Kai's eyes narrowed at him.

Charlotte bit her lip as she tried not to grin, shaking her head at him.

" _Chai_ -kovsky!"

Kai pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed out an "oh my God..."

Charlotte burst out laughing.

"This is why I love you!" she said warmly as she calmed herself. She loved his jokes.

Dan cocked a brow and a smirk at Kai.

"...You're smiling...I see you smiling..."

Kai looked back at him, deadpan.

"I'm really not..."

Charlotte let out a breath, finally composed after laughing.

"Sorry, Kai...you were saying? Who do you like?"

He fought an eye roll. He didn't like talking about himself this much.

"Well...as it happens I do like Tchaikovsky..." he said as he shot a look at Dan, "and I guess off the top of my head...Chopin, Vivaldi, Beethoven..." he listed off.

Charlotte gasped. Those were her favorites, too.

"My, that's quite a list! You are a very refined young man, aren't you!"

"Not really..." he replied bashfully, a little embarrassed by the compliment.

"Oh, don't be so modest! There aren't that many kids your age who appreciate the classics!"

Dan straightened up again...another joke ready to dazzle them...he was on fire today.

"...You know what happens when you play Beethoven backwards?"

Charlotte turned her head from Kai to her man...she'd wanted to talk with Kai...but she couldn't resist.

"What?"

His eyes twinkled.

"He decomposes..."

Charlotte burst out laughing again as Kai's shoulders slumped and he let out an annoyed sigh.

"Will you _stop_!?" he scolded.

"I will when you stop being such a drag and laugh!"

"I'll laugh when you actually say something funny..." he pouted as his arms folded.

Charlotte snorted. They sure were funny to watch together.

Moments later, Sylvia appeared, balancing plates on her arm.

"Here we are, folks! One medium-rare for Dan..." she said as she put it in from of him, blushing as he blew a kiss at her.

"And the chicken with broccoli for you, young man!" she said as she put one in front of Kai, "...and another one for you, Charlotte!"

Kai blinked as he looked over, Charlotte giving him a little smile.

They'd ordered exactly the same thing.

Dan chuckled.

"Hey, look at that! Great minds eat alike!"

Charlotte's smile grew a little at him.

"The broccoli really is to die for."

Starting to eat didn't stop the questions coming from Charlotte. She apparently wanted to know absolutely everything about him. In detail.

He couldn't handle it any more.

They were almost done eating when finally, an opportunity came up for him to get a word in edgeways. He jumped to try and divert the topic off himself.

"So, tell me. How long have you two been together? How'd you meet?" he asked begrudgingly. Not that he cared how this idiot managed to fool a woman in to being with him. But he figured she'd tell the story in great detail, and that meant no bothering him.

Her eyes lit up before looking over at Dan..

"How long, honey?" she asked, quizzing him playfully.

He gulped some water before smiling at her.

"Ten beautiful years...was that a test?" he grinned at her.

She shrugged.

"Just making sure you were keeping track."

Kai's eyes widened. He hadn't realised they'd been together that long.

Oh my God...a decade with Dan...woman deserved a sash or...maybe sectioning.

"That's this time round...we'd dated for three years back in college and broke it off when we graduated. Got back together years later." she explained.

Dan laughed awkwardly and tapped her hand for her to stop.

"Now, now honey...Kai doesn't need to know the whole story, does he?"

Kai smirked evilly. Finally, it was time for him to get a taste of his own medicine. Bitter discomfort.

"Oh yes, I think he does..." Kai answered smugly before looking at Charlotte.

"See?" Charlotte said as she gestured to the boy, "He wants to know! Let the boy enjoy our beautiful tragedy!" she said in a dramatic Shakespearean accent.

Kai frowned. What she just did reminded her of someone...

"You see, I met Dan a few months after starting college. It was a bit rough to start...the place we went to was one of those fancy, hoity-toity type of places...just like where you are now. And urgh, the people there was just so stiff!" she said as she rolled her eyes at the memory.

"Just like you!" Dan grinned at Kai playfully.

Charlotte hit his arm, scolding him for talking to him like that before continuing.

"Anyway, after suffering for months in...oh god, I don't even remember what class, I decided to switch it to a class on film music." She said before a coy smile crept on to her face, "well...I walk in and there's a room full of dry, boring looking types...but out the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of bright red hair and a leather jacket."

Kai's eyes went wide and his smirk grew. Like he a kid knowing he was going to get a present.

"Please tell me that was Mr. Harris..." he asked a little too enthusiastically.

"Uh huh..." she nodded with a smirk of her own.

Dan clearly wasn't enjoying this. Which made Kai love this even more.

"Anyway, I was on the other side of the room. The professor came in and starts the class...oh...God, what was it?!" she asked herself, frustrated, "I can't for the life of me remember what, but the professor was talking and Dan piped up and said the most _hilarious_ thing! I was in fits, but quickly realised I was the only one."

Dan rolled his eyes.

"Pff...it was _gold_! It was wasted on them! Those losers didn't have an ounce of humor between them!" he said defensively.

Charlotte nodded in agreement. "They really didn't...anyway, I laughed...he turned and caught my eye. As soon as the class was over he practically chased me down the hall and asked me out for coffee there and then."

Kai nodded. It was a nice story and all...but there was something else he hadn't quite moved on from yet.

"You. Red hair? Leather jackets?" he snickered.

Charlotte leaned forward.

"Oh yes. He was Mr. Rock n' Roll back then. And it wasn't just red. It was _fire engine_ red."

Kai snorted as he looked his teacher up and down.

Who knew there was a time Dan was almost cool?

"You had red hair? I bet you looked rather dashing in red!" came the elderly woman's voice as she appeared to collect their plates.

Dan turned to her and took her hand before she picked anything up.

"It was as bright and vibrant as my burning love for you..." he said in a husky French accent before turning to the other two glaring, "and it was _awesome!_ "

Sylvia took her hand away and hit him again playfully, blushing again and giggling behind her other hand.

"Oh, you! Such a romantic! But if you have any pictures, I'd sure like to see them!" she said cheerfully as she picked up the plates.

"As would I..." Kai smirked at him, earning him a glare.

Dan didn't like this...the tables had been turned on him. It seemed the student was becoming the master.

When Sylvia left, Kai found himself curious.

"So then what happened?"

Dan's glare turned in to a lifted brow.

Since when did he care enough to ask questions?

"Well..." Charlotte began again, "We hit it off right away. We had so much in common, had similar interests...of course...both studying music...but we just kind of...clicked, you know?"

Kai nodded and waited for her to continue.

"We became really good friends and then just sort of...became a couple, I guess?" she said as she looked to Dan, him nodding in agreement.

"We dated the whole way through college...but then we graduated..." she said with a sadder tone.

Kai saw Dan tense up. He didn't seem to want him to know this part...

"Before I even started college, I knew I wanted to travel after. There was this program in Venezuela where they teach music to underprivileged kids and it was something I'd always wanted to do. I took Spanish classes all throughout college to make sure I could, you know, survive..." she chuckled, "I got accepted on to it...Dan got accepted for a post-grad in Germany..."

Kai's eye's widened even more as he snapped his eyes back to Dan.

"You studied in _Germany_!?"

Charlotte fought a smirk at the impressed look on his face.

Dan nodded, not looking quite as happy.

"Yep." he replied plainly, causing Kai to frown.

This wasn't Dan...when was Dan anything but bubbly?

"Anyway...since we were going to other sides of the planet, I decided to break it off..." she continued sadly, "I just didn't have it in me to do the whole long distance thing..."

Kai was torn. He wanted to know about Dan in Germany. But the moment had passed.

"So how did you get back together?"

She huffed.

"About five years later, we had a little college reunion. He was there, back to his natural brown hair and...another girl with her arm around him..." she said with a hint of bitterness.

"Oh..." Kai let out awkwardly.

Dan nodded.

"Yep. That was awkward as all hell. I didn't think she'd be there..." he joined in. "We caught up, chatted...and I realised I'd never gotten over her. I'd fallen for her all over again that night." he said nostalgically, earning him an 'awww' from Charlotte.

"I'd heard he broke it off with her, not long after he asked to meet up. We kept it as just friends for a good while. About a year, I'd say, when finally he begged for us to give it another shot...he played me Chopin that night...I couldn't say no!" She gushed before turning to Kai.

"Dan tells me you can play that piece beautifully! I'd love to hear it sometime!"

Kai felt another jolt of bashfulness. Was there anything Dan _hadn't_ told her?!

Kai decided to ignore that comment and cocked sly brow. He wanted to keep the topic on them.

"Bet it was easier to say yes without the red hair, huh?" he joked.

Charlotte laughed.

"Oh, noo! I loved the red hair! He was a wild one and it suited him." she protested, "By the way...do you dye your hair?" he asked him suddenly.

"Me? No. This is au naturale..."

She smiled at his choice of words.

"Huh...I've never seen hair quite like it. It really suits you..." she said before winking at Dan, "just like yours did too, Mr. Fire Engine."

"How come you got rid of it?" Kai asked.

Dan snorted.

"You really think schools hire people with flaming red hair?"

Kai snorted back.

"Your hair color isn't what they needed to worry about..." he joked.

Charlotte smiled, enjoying seeing the banter between them.

"So you always knew you wanted to be teachers?" he asked them both.

He regretted it when he saw them both tense.

"Not exactly." Charlotte answered, "I'd wanted to play cello professionally, Dan had wanted to be a film score composer...both pretty competitive games...just wasn't meant to be, I guess."

Kai looked at Dan wide eyed again, he'd had no idea.

Dan's grey eyes met his and he let out a sigh.

"Yeh...I wanted to be the next John Williams or Hans Zimmer..."

He smiled slightly at Kai's blank face...the kid clearly didn't watch many movies.

"...They did the music for movies like Star Wars, Jaws and Pirates of the Caribbean..." he added, naming movies he assumed Kai would have seen, "I mean face it, they're good movies and all, but without the music, you wouldn't have the same experience..."

He caught himself waffling as he noticed Kai's face was still a little blank. He clearly didn't know them. He smiled at him, his eyes smiling too..

"...I'll play you some of the scores sometime."

Charlotte grinned at the little glint in Kai's eyes.

He may not talk much, but just like a puppy, you could see a lot in his eyes.

"Anyway, my dad warned me it was a big waste of time and money. That I should choose something a little more practical. Fell out big time when I took the place in Germany to pursue it. He said it couldn't be done, so I said 'watch me'...shame he was right." he said with a slight laugh.

Kai's face fell seeing the look on Dan's face as he told the story.

"I'm sorry..." he said, not knowing what else to say.

Dan's slightly blue face perked right back up. Grinning as always.

"Ah, it's all right! We tried and that's what matters! Right, honey? And you know what they say, _those that can't, teach_."

Charlotte didn't seem to appreciate that comment and gave him a filthy look.

"Teaching is a very honourable profession, thank you very much!" she shot back.

"It is. Very rewarding." Dan agreed.

"Do you know what you wanna do in the future, Kai?" Charlotte asked.

It was Kai's turn to tense.

He didn't have a choice in the matter.

"...No." he said bluntly, making eye contact with Dan again.

"Well...you're still a baby. Plenty of time to figure it out!" Charlotte said before looking at her watch.

"Would you boys like to partake in some parfait for dessert?" she asked.

A noise left Dan's throat.

"Oooooh, baby you know I love me some parfait!"

"Great, my treat! Maybe we could get one to go for Rei?" she said innocently to Kai.

He instantly flushed.

"Um...Yeh sure...I think he likes them but I wouldn't know for sure..." he said, his voice cracking a little.  
She smiled at him, he was quite adorable when he was flustered. So much for 'tough guy'.

"What does he do? He's on your beyblading team, isn't he? What's he in to?"

"He is...and he also teaches the Chinese class at school right now."

Dan felt like the table had turned once again in his favor.

"Kai's in his Chinese class, too..." he added, causing Charlotte to grin.

"Really? What made you choose to take Chinese? I heard it was really hard!"

He flushed scarlet again and squirmed.

"Just seemed like a smart thing to study...might come in handy..." his voice cracked out.

She smirked. So cute. She knew exactly why, and that wasn't it.  
"Uh...He likes movies and stuff too, I'm sure you two would have a lot to talk about..." Kai added, changing the topic.  
"I'm sure we will, I can't wait to meet him. I bet he is just a peach." She answered excitedly.  
Kai's face plummeted.

"Meet him!?"  
She nodded. "But of course, why wouldn't I meet him?" she asked before looking at him dead on.

"Before I do...does he know you like him?"  
Kai went a shade of red never before seen by Dan. It was something.

"What!? No!", he shrieked out, flustered, "I mean not 'no, he doesn't', I mean 'no, it's not like that'!' he protested as his eye twitched, glaring at Dan "Why would you think something like that!?"  
She shrugged her shoulders, "Call it womanly intuition, but don't worry my lips are sealed." She said while pretending to pull a zipper across her lips while smirking and winking at him.

"Dan, honey, could you go ask Sylvia and put that order in? I'm afraid she might have gotten tied up outside again."

Dan grinned, both at his woman calling out his Fireball like that and getting another opportunity to woo his silver goddess.  
As soon as he was gone, she turned to him.

"Please don't be too mad at him for telling me, it wasn't to hurt you or anything.  
His face had hardly changed color.

"Then he shouldn't be shooting his mouth off about things that aren't true!" he hissed.  
She frowned at him and leaned her head into the palm of her hand as she placed her elbow on the table.

"Can I tell you something?"  
Kai looked at her.  
"When I had broken things off with Dan, I hadn't done it because I wanted to, it was too keep myself safe from being hurt before he had the chance to hurt me. Being apart like that, even if just for a year, there's so many variables that just make it all so overwhelming. But when we met each other again... He was with someone else, and that was something I hadn't been prepared to see. And even though I was the one that let him go, it still hurt. Sometimes it still does, because I never gave us the chance we could have had. If anything, letting him go that one time is one of my biggest regrets. All because I didn't try."  
Kai felt his stomach drop and squirm.

"We're just teammates...and been friends for a long time...even _if_ it were the case... _which its_ _not_ ...you can't just throw away a friendship and it's unprofessional to date a teammate...plus he doesn't like me back, so...what's taking Mr. Harris so long?" he said suddenly, desperate to get out this conversation.

She sighed. She'd given it a shot at least...

There was silence for a few more minutes until Dan came back with Sylvia, their arms around each other as they walked...clearly still flirting and teasing each other shamelessly.

As they reached the table, the older woman placed a brown bag on the table.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Char...your man here couldn't keep his hands off me..." she said through giggles as she slapped Dan's arm.

"Of course I couldn't. Look at you, my Swan, you're irresistible!" he said as he pulled her closer.

"Oh, stop that, you bad man!" she cackled.

Charlotte cleared her throat and held up her wallet.

"Don't forget to pay your fair lady sir."  
Kai went to get his out, too. Only to have Charlotte force him to put it away.  
Sylvia walked them to the door to see them off. Dan holding her hand the whole way.

As they stepped out the door, Dan took her hand and placed a kiss on it.

"In another life, my angel..." he said once again in his French accent, wiggling his eyebrows up and down at her.

She giggled again and shooed him out.

"Go on, get out of here." she laughed before going back to her day with a big grin on her face. That man always put her in the best mood...  
Charlotte put the bag in the back of the car with Kai before slipping into the front seat with Dan.

"So, where off to now boys?"  
"Aren't we just going back to mine? ...well...school?" Dan asked.  
"Well I wasn't sure if Kai wanted to go somewhere else since it is the weekend. But of course, you don't have to spend it with us darling." She said over her shoulder to him.

"But we should eat those before they go bad, maybe we can take them to a park? But then we'd have to pick up Rei so his doesn't go bad... Would that be alright?"  
Dan beamed...he saw straight through her innocent rouse.  
"Excellent idea, sweety!"  
Kai felt his heart stop.

"Uhhhhhh he might be busy!"  
"I'll call him and check!" Dan countered.  
"Since when do you have his number!?"  
"Since he planned that party for yoooooouuuuu..." he said suggestively.  
Charlotte perked up in her seat.

"Oh that was very sweet of him. Was it for your birthday?" she asked excitedly.  
"...Yes ma'am..."  
"When is his birthday? Are you older than he is, or is he older than you?" she asked, once again the flood gates of questions pouring out.*  
"In March...I'm a little older."  
"Did you get a hold of him darling?" She asked Dan, who had stepped out of the car to call.  
He grinned at her.  
"Yep! He's down! Let's go get him!"  
Kai died inside.

Hadn't he suffered enough today?!

"OH! Wanna do some car Karaoke!? Kai can do an amazing Freddy!" Dan beamed proudly.

...Apparently he hadn't suffered enough.  
Charlotte squealed as she turned in her seat to look at him.  
"YOU CAN SING QUEEN?!"  
"No...no, no...I can't!" he said desperately, looking between her and Dan.  
"We did _Under Pressure_ last time!" Dan told her excitedly.  
Charlotte grabbed Dan's iPod.  
"Can we do _We Will Rock You_? That one is my favorite!"  
Dan was nearly bursting in his seat. Hot _damn_ he loved a good sing-along.

"Don't forget to do the stamp and clap!"  
She rolled her eyes at him.  
"What do you take me for, an amateur?"

Kai continued to glance between them, his mouth falling open slightly at a very late realisation.

The bubbly, slightly whacky personality.

The animation in everything she said and did.

The love for horrible jokes and puns.

The love for music and apparently singing too.

Bugging him about Rei and wanting to 'help'.

….Oh my god...

She was a female Dan.

 _There were two of them.  
_ "That was more aimed at _him_..." Dan said dryly as he nodded back at Kai.  
She rolled her eyes again.

"He doesn't have to join if he doesn't want to. You just focus on driving and singing."  
Dan glared at her.

"Oh, yes he does! My car, my rules!"  
"And if he doesn't, are you going to strap him to the roof?" she asked him with a cocked brow.  
Kai let out a breath in relief...maybe she wasn't as bad as Dan.  
Charlotte leaned over to Dan, catching his disappointed expression and whispered to him.

"Maybe when Rei joins us, he'll get him to do it."  
Dan couldn't help but laugh at that.

She didn't know him yet.

When Rei joined them, all he'd get him to do would be turn red and clam up.

Charlotte ignored his laugh and hit play. Cranking up the volume to a deafening level.

Kai shrunk back in his seat, covering his ears and groaning as he watched the two of them bopping furiously. Charlotte stamping her feet and clapping to the beat before their voices added to the already loud music.

" _Buddy you're a boy, make a big noise_

 _Playin' in the street, gonna be a big man some day!_

 _You got mud on your face, you big disgrace,_

 _Kickin' your can all over the place singin'_

 _WE EE WILLLLL, WEEE WILLLLL ROCK YOU!"_

Kai's heart was pounding.

This was awful enough as it was with just him.

Now Rei was going to come into the equation...

" _Buddy you're an old man, poor man,_

 _Pleading with your eyes, gonna make you some peace some day,_

 _You got mud on your face, you big disgrace,_

 _Somebody better put you back in to your PLACE!_

 _WEEEE WILLL, WE WILLL ROCK YOU!"_

His arms folded over his chest again, cursing God and every other deity he could think of for the hell he was about to endure.

...Not realising his own knee was going with the beat...

* * *

End of Chapter 16!

I know it was long, but there was a lot to do in this one and some things to set up for later!

Hope you come back to see what happens when Rei joins the party!

Thank you for reading! Any comments, as always, very much appreciated!

Disclaimer: Do not own any Queen songs.


	17. Shot Through the Heart

Hello! And a very Happy New Year to you all!

A big thank you to those who left reviews! As always, I really do appreciate it a lot!

It's taken a while, but here is the next chapter! Just a few things before we start.

First, this may be the last update for a little while. Life is about to get really busy with moving house and work, and I've also been neglecting some other stories for a really long time! I'll try keep the wait minimal though!

Secondly, I just wanted to clear up something I've heard a few times from some friends/reviewers regarding this story.

While this is a Kai/Rei story, that's not the only purpose of it. There are several themes in this story, and I've tried my best to keep them balanced and give them equal time in the spotlight.

I want to develop Kai and Dan's relationship as much as I want to develop Kai and Rei's. To me they're equally important. And I want to show Kai's character and him coping with his problems and the progress he makes.

Kai and Rei haven't fallen in to each other's arms yet for a reason. This story deals with mental health issues and someone struggling. Something myself and I think a lot of readers can relate to. The last thing I want to do is for Kai and Rei to get together and _poof!_ All his problems be solved. That, to me, is unrealistic and undermining and not what I want to do.

I can understand it's probably frustrating being 17 chapters in and still no moves being made, but from where I'm sitting, the two of them have come a long way in getting closer...at least that's what I was going for XD

They'll get there, y'all. I apologize for the wait, but they will! Please bare with me!

On that note, here is the next chapter and I really hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Chapter 17 – Shot Through the Heart

Rei's eyes widened as the car pulled up to a stop, the music is so loud he heard it coming down the road, but he hadn't imagined it had been Mr. Harris's car that sounded like a concert on wheels.  
He opened the door and picked up the brown bag in the seat before sliding in, keeping it on his lap and pulling his crutches in with him trying to find a good place on the floor for them.

"Seems like a party in here!" He yelled over the music.  
Kai looked at him, telling him to run and save himself with his eyes  
Dan turned around in his seat and grinned at him.

"Absolutely! Welcome to the Mirth-mobile! Seat belts on!" he yelled back at him.  
Rei caught Kai's desperate look and gave him a fanged smile as he buckled himself in.  
"Wouldn't happen to have any Bon Jovi on that would you?" He yelled to Dan.  
Kai's face plummeted and looked at him with a betrayed face.  
 _ **"Why!?"**_  
Dan on the other hand, couldn't believe his luck. Did he mention he liked Rei?

"YESSSS!"  
Charlotte scrolled through the iPod, and nodded.

"There's a few on here. Which one would you like?" she yelled back to him.  
Dan suddenly remembered he hadn't introduced them yet.  
"Oh! Intros! Rei, love of my life! Love of my life, Rei!"  
Rei strained his ears, it was so hard, even for him, to hear them over the blaring music.

 _Love of My Life_? He hadn't heard of that one before.  
"I don't know that one! I only know _You Give Love a Bad Name_." He laughed a little. "But I can learn the other one."  
Dan laughed.  
"No! This is Charlotte! My better half!"  
Charlotte shook her head and finally turned the music down, turning to face Rei. "It's not a song darling. He was introducing us, it's very nice to meet you."  
Kai was finally relieved for some quiet, rubbing his ringing ears.

Rei went red in the face for a second before smiling warmly at her. She looked nice.

"The pleasures all mine."

Dan was already impatient. There was another sing-along on the horizon.  
"Now that's done...Bon Jovi us!" he exclaimed enthusiastically at Charlotte.  
"Must we!?" Kai protested, falling on deaf ears.  
Charlotte narrowed her eyes at Dan.

"Pleasseee?" she prompted.  
Rei sat up in his seat.

"Pleaaaase!"

He knew she hadn't wanted him to say it, but he was desperate to get going. He'd been cooped up bored at the school all day. He wanted to have some fun.  
Charlotte flashed him a small smile before narrowing her eyes at Dan again.

"Well at least somebody has manners around here." She huffed as she pressed play on the song Rei had asked for, turning the volume back up to where it was before.  
Rei looked over and saw Kai glaring at him. He shot him a stupid grin back.

"What?! It's a good song!"  
Kai rolled his eyes.

"Then by all means, take it away..." he replied dryly.  
Rei's grin only widened as his mouth opened.

 _"SHOT THROUGH THE HEART, AND YOU'RE TOO BLAME, DARLIN' YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME!"_  
Kai startled and stared at him wide eyed, fighting the smirk that wanted to break out across his face. This was a first...  
In perfect synchrony, Rei and the two adults in the front threw their arms in to a frenzy of air- guitaring at the powerful solo while the car waited at a red light.

Charlotte and Rei seemed to have this one, stopping their air-guitaring and busting out together.

 _"An angel's smile is what you sell.  
You promise me heaven, then put me through hell. _

_Chains of love got a hold on me.  
When passion's a prison, you can't break free."_  
Kai's face remained amused until he glanced out the window...and saw the elderly couple in the car beside them watching and laughing.

He immediately sunk in to his seat, trying to get out of view and went back to sulking.

Dan on the other hand was loving watching his lady and Rei give it all they had. Especially Rei. Who knew?!

He caught a glimpse of Kai looking pissy in the mirror and cocked a brow before shaking his head a little.

...As if he wasn't loving this really...  
 _  
"Ohhhh, you're a loaded gun, yeah.  
Ohhhhh, there's nowhere to run!" _

Rei suddenly lunged forward in his seat, eyes closed and really getting in to it.  
 _"No one can save me, THE DAMAGE IS DONE!"_

Charlotte stopped singing, eyes glittering at the gravely-voiced teen letting loose.

Kai inwardly squirmed as he struggled to maintain his unamused grimace.

He'd always loved Rei's velvety voice. It always made him feel more relaxed.

But 'relaxed' wasn't the word he'd use for his current feeling as he listened to Rei belting out at the top of his lungs.

He dared himself to turn his head and open his eyes.

He regretted it instantly. The gorgeous, tanned guy beside him was in a world of his own, his body moving rhythmically as he sang. His bangs swaying smoothly but almost violently.

...God he wish he'd had his hair down today. This would really be something.

He hoped Rei would stop. That he'd run out of steam. But nope, he was powering through.

He couldn't look away. He'd never seen Rei do anything like this before.

But this was exactly what he admired in Rei. He seemed so free, easy-going and liquid. He just went with the flow.

Dan had been right at the restaurant, even if he was joking. He, on the other hand, was as stiff as a board and bland.

He unconsciously let out a sigh.

Rei needed someone with the same zest. Someone fun, spontaneous and lively to take him out and do spur of the moment things. Make a bunch of memories and experiences that just sort of happened. Each story they'd tell their naturally large group of friends would involve the phrase "one thing just lead to another and..."

That definitely wasn't him.

Couldn't be more different from that person if he tried.

The music finally stopped and Rei panted slightly, trying to get his breath back as Dan and Charlotte applauded his performance.

He made eye contact with Kai, who was smirking at him.

"...Enjoy that?"

He grinned at him as he ran his fingers through his bangs and tussled them, breathless and slightly red faced.

"I did!"

Kai couldn't help but bite the inside of his cheek. He looked fantastic...

"Didn't know you had that in you, Rei!" Dan beamed at him.

He laughed, slowly getting his breath back.

"Neither did I! That felt really good!"

Dan looked smug.

"The power of singing, I'm always saying it!"

Charlotte nodded in agreement before turning around in her seat, smiling at him.

"What a shame you can't join the choir too!"

Rei chose to politely ignore that. He was happy for the compliment, but after seeing how hard Kai and the others worked during practices...he was good with occasional sing-alongs.

"So, what are we doing exactly?" Rei asked curiously. Dan had been pretty vague on the phone.

"Going to the park, eating parfait." Dan answered simply, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"O...K..." Rei answered, looking more confused, causing Kai to smirk at him again.

He cleared his throat. That epic performance had left his throat dry as a bone.

"Would you mind if we grabbed something to drink beforehand? My throat's a little..."

Charlotte beamed.

"Sure! Oh, Dan! That nice little cafe we like isn't too far from the park. Can we stop by there?"

Dan was already nodding when Rei leaned forward, excited.

"Do you mean the place on the corner of 5th and Elm?!" he asked excitedly, "They have the best Thai tea there..." he said as his mouth watered at the mere thought of it.

"That's the one!" she beamed back.

Kai lifted a brow at him. How did he know this area so well?

"...When did you go there?"

Rei sat back in his seat and turned to him.

"I go there a lot, actually. Well...I mean since I started working at the school and before I busted my ankle. It's a little too far to walk right now..."

"Oh..." Kai nodded, feeling a little clench of hurt in his chest.

How come he never asked him to go with him?

Then again...they did spend a lot of time together. Maybe it was too much for him. Needed a break from him. He knew all too well how that felt. Seeing his classmates everyday was a mission in itself.

...It was just Rei was the only person he didn't feel that way about.

They pulled in to the parking space. Charlotte insisted Rei wait in the car to save struggling with his crutches, which meant Kai and Dan were in charge of fetching drinks.

"What do you want?" Kai asked.

"Large iced Thai tea!" he responded in an instant, shifting in his seat to get in to his pocket to get out his wallet.

Kai waved his hand.

"It's OK, I got it..."

Rei flushed slightly.

"Oh, no, no!" he protested.

It was too late. He was already out the car.

Charlotte gave Dan hers before he too stepped out the car, leaving them alone.

As the car door closed, she spun around in her seat. Eyes glittering.

"It's SO nice to meet you, Rei! Dan's told me all about you!"

He flushed harder.

"H-he did?"

She nodded.

"Oh yes! Tells me your quite a guy! So you're from China, huh? Always wanted to go! What part are you from? Does your family not miss you being so far away from home? And shouldn't you be in a school rather than working at one?"

He blinked a few times, his brain trying to keep up with the sudden game of twenty questions.

"Uh... I am from China... I came from a small village hidden in the mountains not too far from Beijing. I ugh... I guess my friends miss me a lot, I really don't have a family. And I'm not really a citizen of Japan to be able to go to school?" He finished off with an awkward shrug.

Charlotte nodded, taking in all the answers to her questions, feeling she shouldn't pry about his family.

"So what's it like working in a hoity-toity place!? Bet it feels good being able to boss them around!" she said before letting out a devilish chuckle, "I know I like it!"

Rei laughed a little nervously.

"It's kind of interesting, I was actually surprised they took to me the way they have, being the same age as them and all. Must be weirder for them than it is for me. What do you do?"

Charlotte practically puffed out her chest.

"I'm a music teacher!" she answered with enormous pride, "Just like my Dan, I teach at a boarding school. A girls one."

Rei chuckled. He had no clue, but looking at her it somehow suited her.

"That's cool..." He responded as his brain drew a blank of what to say next.

Charlotte's eyes went intense.

"You play anything!?"

He jumped out of his skin at her overly excited question.

"Well...I play beyblade." He said with a forced smile.

She frowned, not getting that he was being funny.

"I meant an instrument sweetheart! I know you do the bey-thingy. Same team as Kai."

Rei fought a sigh. He knew what she meant, he just didn't want to seem like some loser.

He was currently surrounded by musical geniuses, and he was nothing like them.

"Oh, I'm sorry. No... I don't play an instrument."

He felt worse as he caught a glimpse of disappointment in her eyes.

"Ah that's all right! Not for everyone I guess!" she answered cheerfully.

He sank in to his chair. He knew she didn't mean it to sound like she was making fun, but it bothered him a little. It was just another jab that let him know he and Kai were two very different people.

She caught him looking somewhat embarrassed and wondered what it was she'd said. Maybe it was that the three of them were musicians and he wasn't?

Her eyes lit up more as she moved on.

"What else do you like to do then? You don't seem as stiff as your friend!"

He cocked a brow at her choice of words, but decided to let it slide. It wasn't like he knew the woman well enough to argue with her about Kai's behavior.

"Oh, well I like manga and anime, I like the beach and hiking. I'm slowly learning how to play video games, coming from a small village in the middle of China we really didn't have those sorts of things."

Her eyes sparkled.

"What a great list of hobbies! Finally, a normal teenager! That is so refreshing..." she said happily as she thought of her own stuck up students...rich daddy's girls who had no manners whatsoever. Not all of them of course...but a fair few like that.

Rei deflated a little.

Yup, that was him. Normal and... Boring.

She practically leaned over the seat suddenly.

"Kai told me you like movies!"

He blinked and flushed ever so slightly. Kai talked about him?

"I do..."

She beamed.

"I LOVE movies! Dan and I watch one every time we meet up!"

He brightened a little.

"Oh? What's your favorite movie of ALL time?!" He asked, matching her energy.

She suddenly went deep in to thought.

"...Oh wow, that's a tough one..."

Rei waited, amused by how hard she was thinking. He could almost see smoke coming out her ears.

"Maybe _The Pianist_! Such a heart-wrenching movie...and the music! Dan is quite the admirer of the man that movie is based on... Oh but then again..." she said as she waved her hands, "I need time! What about you!?"

He smiled at how she looked so animated and excited about everything. No wonder her and Dan were together. They were perfect for each other.

"Oh. Hm... You know, that is a tough one. I really like superhero movies, anything fantasy really. I guess maybe my favorite would be... Avatar, you know, the blue people one."

"AH! That was fabulous!" she gasped, "The things they can do with CGI these days!"

She turned to him again.

"You like Thor!? I love Thor!"

He smirked, of course he loved Thor. He was, after all, a _God of Thunder_ himself, in some way.

"He's my favorite Avenger!"

She gushed and forgot herself as the image of the fine actor who played him swam in her mind.

"...I'd ride in to Asgard with that man any day of the week..."

Rei chuckled. He would too, but he wasn't about to tell her that. "I really liked the last one, it was really good."

She nodded frantically in agreement.

"Do you watch movies with Kai?" she asked innocently.

He fought a laugh, while also trying not to blush as memories of the night before came to mind. "Eh, he's not really a movie kind of guy... He likes to do stuff on his own and what not..."

She frowned a little.

"Oh...but Dan said you two were joint at the hip!"

Rei frowned back. He had no idea what prompted Dan to say such a thing, and fought even harder not laugh.

"I mean, pair us up with the others of our team then yeah, he'll stick beside me. Put us alone in a room and he's on the other side in a heart beat in a dark corner." He said with a sadness in his tone.

She tried not to gush. She hadn't known either of them long. Mere hours. But she could already see what was going on with them. _God_ she loved a teenage romance. Ahhhh to be young, in love and...useless.

"...Is that right? I was under the impression you two were thick as thieves..."

He snorted at that and rolled his eyes.

"No... He likes to carry a fifty-foot yard stick to make sure everyone knows that's the closest they'll ever get to him."

She snickered.

"Yeh...I see that...Probably just needs someone special to take that stick and snap it in half..." she said slyly at him.

He didn't know why that bothered him so much, but once again he felt himself sinking in to his seat. Probably because he knew it wouldn't be him. No matter how hard he tried, there was that stick keeping him at bay. Sure, they had a good time the night before. but that didn't mean it was going to become a regular thing. Why would it? It wasn't like Kai really gave him that many reasons to make him believe he even liked him more than a friend and a teammate.

"Well... All I can say is they'll be really lucky..." he breathed out in a defeated sigh.

Meanwhile, Kai stood with his arms folded looking irritated as he stood with Dan, who had his hands in his pockets and whistling. The line was long. Far too long.

He needed that coffee and he needed it _now_.

Dan caught the glare Kai was giving him for whistling and smiled at him.

"Nice place, huh! Can't believe you've never come here! You can leave the school ya know..."

He scowled at him and pressed his arms tighter in to his chest, still feeling a little hurt Rei had never asked him to.

"Never had a reason to come..."

Dan snorted.

"What about to lurk in a dark corner looking all cool and mysterious? That's your whole deal!"

He huffed out another laugh and nudged him in the ribs.

"Ohhh speaking of, let me guess...you're ordering plain black coffee, aren't you? Dark and black like your SOUL!" he said in a dramatic, teasing voice.

Kai rolled his eyes at him.

"Like this place has any 'dark corners'" he mumbled before pushing him off of him. "Will you knock it off? And yes, it goes perfect with my black soul and heart. Har har."

Dan looked around and pointed to the far left corner

"There's a lightbulb out over there...perfect for brooding."

The teenager sighed and shook his head, finally moving up in the line. Why was this place so packed in the middle of the afternoon?

Dan's eyes were huge and glistening as he turned to him suddenly, unable to hold it in any more.

"So tell me! What do you think of Charlotte!? Isn't she amazing!?"

He about choked on his spit. Not this again... Why did they both insist on wanting to know what HE thought about the other one? Wasn't that their job to like the person they were with?

"She's nice." He said in his usual dull tone.

Dan frowned. That was all he had to say?

"That's all you got... _nice_?"

He shrugged.

"I mean... you two... go together well?"

His eyes went back to huge and happy.

"DON'T WE!? That woman is the queen of my world!" he said before putting his hand to his chin,

"...can be a little over the top though."

Kai rolled his eyes again.

" _You're a fine one to talk..."_

"You don't say?"

"Yeh, I still love her for it though! She is what she is and I wouldn't change her for the world. Not to mention she's an auburn haired _vixen_! Did I strike lucky or what!?"

Kai gave him a look. Dan knew he wasn't exactly into women so why would he bother asking that?! "Sure did." he answered with an awkward, crooked smile and a nervous laugh, thanking whatever higher power that the line moved again.

Dan gushed.

"Aw, she'll be thrilled to know you think she's pretty!"

He flushed instantly.

"I didn't say that!"

His teacher's face darkened.

"You calling my lady ugly?"

He sighed. Already exhausted.

"Quit putting words in my mouth, okay? I didn't say she was ugly or pretty. Don't you think I'm the wrong person to be even asking something like that, I'm your student for heaven's sake!"

It was Dan's turn to roll his eyes.

"I'm not asking you to kiss her! Stop being a prude! Can't a man be proud of his gorgeous woman!?"

"You can, I didn't say that... You know what, never mind, pretend I didn't say anything!" he huffed and turned his back on him. God,why was this man so hell bent on making every little thing a fucking task?

Dan smirked, unable to leave the chance to ruffle his feathers a bit.

"...Im-a tell her anyway...who's she gonna believe? Me or the red Russian over here?"

His arms tightened again, he didn't care. He'd had a long day and his intake of caffeine was way overdue, he didn't have the patience to deal with this right now.

Dan pouted, annoyed his ruffling didn't work.

"Unlessssss of course, someone stopped being such a buzz kill and joined in a little fun!"

Kai snapped.

"What do you want me to do? Yeah, she's great. You two fit perfectly together! She's beautiful and smart, and a kind woman. You happy?"

He beamed and slapped his shoulder.

"Aw! Thanks buddy! But I'm just saying it wouldn't kill you to unfold your arms, wipe that pissy look off your face and lighten up a little! Rei busted out like a frickin' rock star after barely saying 'hello'!"

A faint smirk came to his sour face as he remembered Rei's all out performance, that was a first.

"So?"

Dan saw that...that little smirk. He knew he'd loved it really.

"Just sayin'...would do you good to maybe take a leaf out his book."

Kai sighed. He could never be like Rei.

"Dully noted... What do you want anyways?" he asked as they finally stepped up to the counter.

Back in the car, Charlotte wasn't done prying.

"So...if you don't hang out that much...how are you two friends?"

Rei squirmed slightly.

"Well, we do hang out... I mean he's our team captain and everything. I'm not saying we're not friends or anything...I look at him as a friend. Like my best friend really." He said before shutting his mouth. He could feel himself rambling. The last thing he wanted to was to look even more stupid. "He's a good guy when you get to know him."

She smirked at him again, desperate to get it out of him. Aw, these two would be so cute together...

"I'm sure he is...but what's so good about him then? I could hardly get two words out of him."

Rei chuckled.

"That sounds like him, especially around someone new. He's a great listener, and he's a fantastic captain. He's saved all our butts a bunch of times. He's smart, and talented and even though I know he absolutely hates it, he has a wonderful singing voice. Since I hurt my ankle, he's been really helpful in making sure I'm taken care of. There's just so many different things that once you dig deep enough, you really see the real Kai." He said, more collected, and with a twinkle in his eyes as he told her.

She fought a big old grin "Is that right? Who'd have thought...you know Dan says similar stuff too."

He smiled at her. "He's a really good guy, just has this tough guy look to him that makes him look like he's untouchable. But if you need him, he's there. No questions asked."

"...You really like him, huh?" she said with a soft voice but a hard smirk.

His face instantly flushed.

"...That obvious huh?"

She chuckled.

"Yyyeeeepp." she answered, putting emphasis on the P.

He laughed a bit nervously.

"Well shit..."

The car door was suddenly thrown open by Dan as he let Kai struggle with all the drinks behind him.

"What I miss!? What we talkin' about? Is it me?"

Rei jumped, still red in the face.

"Matt Damon!" he yelled out in a panic.

Dan blinked.

"The guy in 'Ted'?"

"I think so!" He replied, looking to Charlotte for back up.

She shook her head.

"No, no that's Mark Wahlberg honey, you always mix those up!"

He shrugged.

"Eh. Same thing."

Rei turned his eyes to Kai, fighting to get in the car.

"Here, pass me two of them, you can't get in like that."

Kai awkwardly tried to pass them and not spill them while glaring at Dan for not helping...asshole.

Rei leaned forward and took some of the drinks from him, finally allowing him to get back in the car.

Charlotte turned to get hers from Rei before giving Kai a smile.

"You were right, Kai! Rei is quite the movie buff! We've been talking about them since you left!"

"Hn..." he answered mindlessly as he settled in and blew on his coffee before he looked at Rei's. "...What is that?"

Rei held it up.

"It's Thai tea. I really dunno what's in it, but it's so good... Want to try some?"

The other fought yet another flush.

"Um...sure."

Rei happily handed it over, practically bouncing in his seat, excited for him to try it.

Kai took it and put the straw in his mouth, quickly taking a sip while trying to touch the straw as little as possible.

"Oh wow...that is really good..." he agreed awkwardly as his eyes checked straw to make sure there was no spit on it

Rei beamed.

"I told you, I get it all the time since coffee really isn't my thing." He explained happily as he took it back.

He looked at it and frowned a little. It was still separated. Milky at the top and clear at the bottom.

"You didn't stir it, here." he said as he mixed it up and handed it back. "Try it now, makes it so much better."

Kai kicked himself...what an idiot...he thought it tasted weird. He took it back and did the same dance with the straw. He wasn't wrong, this was way better.

He glanced over at Rei's anticipating face and gave him a nod of approval.

Dan piped up, having watched in the mirror.

"Now you got a reason to go back there!" he exclaimed, putting this in the memory bank for later.

 _Sooooo_ many digs about swapping saliva.

Rei sunk in his seat a little.

"You know, when I found it I had planned to ask you, but you ended up just being so busy all the time that I never found the time to ask you."

Kai's heart skipped a beat. Had he given off he was sad he hadn't asked him along?

"Oh...that's fine...m-maybe some other time..."

Dan pursed his lips and gripped the wheel harder Charlotte tried not to giggle behind her hand. These two were adorable...

Rei nodded and took the whole top of the straw into his mouth and glanced out the window, making a small noise as he swallowed. Oh, he had missed his Thai tea.

Thirsts quenched, they arrived at the park. The four of them settling down on the dry grass before Charlotte opened the brown bag and passing around the insanely good looking parfaits and some spoons.

Rei's entire face lit up. He was quite the foody.

"These look amazing!"

Charlotte grinned.

"They are! Best in town if you ask me!"

He tore open the plastic cup and stuck his spoon deep in to the fruity, creamy goodness, lifting it out and looking at it almost lustfully before putting it in his mouth.

His shoulders went limp and he jiggled slightly, a noise leaving his throat.

"Oh my godddd, this is so good!" he practically groaned.

Dan and Charlotte did the same, making similar sounds of agreement.

Kai hesitated. He didn't have much of a sweet tooth. He didn't even really know what a parfait was when Charlotte had suggested it. It looked pretty heavy...

Rei turned to him, almost disappointed he hadn't opened his yet.

"What are you waiting for?!" he asked impatiently.

Kai huffed and obeyed, pulling the top off, sticking his spoon in as the others had and lifted it out.

...he looked up to find them all watching him.

"...What?" he asked uncomfortably.

"We're waiting for the fourth verdict!" Dan grinned back.

He rolled his eyes.

"Well knock it off...do you know how off putting it is to have someone watch you eat?"

They all turned their heads away dramatically in unison.

He sighed again. How was he spending his Saturday like this again?

He put the spoon in his mouth and grimaced a few seconds later when the taste settled in.

This was _rich_.

He turned his head again when he heard snickering.

"Not a fan?" Rei asked, grinning at him.

He shook his head, making Rei grin more.

"Should have guessed. I'm surprised you even got one since you don't like sweet stuff."

He frowned. How did Rei know that?

Rei didn't notice the frown. He was too busy scraping the bottom of his cup, getting the last of it on his spoon before eyeing Kai's barely touched one.

"...You not gonna finish it?" he asked hopefully.

Kai smirked at him. While Tyson was without a doubt the team pig, Rei had his moments too.

He held it out to him.

"Its all yours..."

He could see Rei mentally fist punching the air as he took it from him and jumped right in to round two.

Dan shook his head.

"There's something wrong with your taste buds. These taste like they were handmade by angels...then again, that's probably why you don't like it, isn't it my little Dark Lord?"

Charlotte hit his arm gently.

"Will you leave him alone? If he doesn't like it, he doesn't like it!"

Kai was starting to like Charlotte...

Dan chuckled at the glare he was getting and pretended to flick water at him.

"The power of Christ _**compels you**_!" he hissed dramatically.

Charlotte gave him another look of disapproval, whereas Rei actually found it funny.

Kai glared harder.

"If I was the Dark Lord, I'd have Avada Kedavra'd your ass months ago..." he mumbled out.

Rei snorted through his mouthful of dessert.

"...What?" he chuckled with a confused frown.

"Hn?"

"You'd have abra...cadabra'd him? What does that even mean?" he chuckled.

Kai blinked.

"You know...the killing curse."

Rei looked both blank and amused.

"...From Harry Potter?" Kai tried to elicit.

Rei shook his head.

"Never seen it or read it."

Kai's eyes widened.

"Seriously!?"

Rei's eyes twinkled. Maybe it was the sugar from the second dessert.

"What can I say, I'm not a big old dork like you..." he said cheekily.

Dan choked on his own spoonful and started laughing, laughing harder as he caught Kai's horrified face. He could hear his inner monologue right now.

" _Me!? The coolest guy to walk the Earth?! A dork!? How very dare you!"_

"I'm not a _dork_!" his voice screeched out, offended.

Rei laughed harder, it wasn't often he managed to get under his skin. Should have known his ego wouldn't have liked that very much.

"Oh no...of course not..." he said innocently, "All the cool kids are in to 18th century Brit-lit about a detective, play the violin, the piano, willingly spend their free time reading about super old...whatever, and completely dig stories about wizards..." he listed off.

"Not to mention sings in a choir..." Dan piped up.

Kai's brow twitched.

"Only because _someone_ made me!" he yelled at him through his now red face.

"Pfft...please. You're always the first one there. You love it."

"How would you know?! You're always late!"

"Fine, you're the last one to leave, then. That I do know."

"...Shut up!"

"Ha! Told ya!"

Rei laughed again, enjoying this.

"Face it, Kai, you're one step away from painting little figurines from Lord of the Rings."

Kai flushed harder, not seeing the funny side.

Rei thought he was that much of a nerd?! Really?!

He folded his arms tightly.

"Whatever...a little rich coming from a guy who only reads something if it has pictures in it..."

Rei's laughter stopped immediately.

That was a little below the belt, wasn't it?!

He knew it...Kai thought he was some kind of Neanderthal.

His eyes began to slit in annoyance.

"...Well I'm sorry, Mr. Moneybags! Not my fault I can't attend some lavish school to learn a bunch of crap that doesn't help with real life at all!"

Kai startled at that reaction. What was he so mad about?

"What are you talking about? All I ever see you read is those stupid superhero things! The Revengers or some crap..."

Rei's eyes went back to normal as a laugh stuck in his throat.

"...The Revengers?"

Charlotte and Dan started chuckling too.

Kai huffed, not liking the laughter at his expense starting up again.

"...Or whatever it is..."

"The _Avengers_!" they all corrected before laughing at him again.

Kai cocked a brow and smirked.

"...And you guys call me the dork..."

"You _are_ a dork!" Rei persisted, "How do you not know the Avengers?!" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeh!" Dan butted in, "even I know them and I'm like...twice your age!"

Kai snorted.

"More than that, wouldn't you say?"

"Still cooler than you!" He grinned, feeling somewhat happy he was still down with the kids.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. They were picking on the poor little grandpa-child.

"Will you leave him alone? Everyone has their own interests..." she said in a scolding way at

the other two.

Dan waved it off.

"Ahhhh, we're just yankin' his chain! ...Got to admit though, you don't ever let yourself have much fun, do you?" He said back at his student.

Kai huffed. Rei had given him this talk the other day. Hence the pizza night...

He flushed as the memory came back.

That had been the most content he'd been in a really long time.

"Now Rei here, he's my kind of guy! Always up for a giggle, aren't you buddy?" He said cheerfully as he ruffled his hair.

Rei fought a flinch. He didn't like his hair being touched...

"I guess..." he agreed, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Charlottes eyes twinkled.

"Well then...why don't you take Kai and show him a good time?" She said innocently, causing the two boys to freeze.

"What do you mean?" Rei asked.

"Well, there's an arcade just down the street! Why don't you boys go have some fun? We got some errands to run, don't we honey? You boys don't wanna tag along, surely!"

They looked at each other.

Kai knew he sure as hell didn't wanna stick with Dan 1 and Dan 2...but he didn't wanna go to a loud, childish arcade either...

Unfortunately, Rei seemed to think differently.

"What do you say, Kai!?" He beamed as he bounced, "I promise I won't kick your butt too badly!"

Kai hesitated before shrugging and Rei took it as a yes.

"Awesome! Wanna go now!?" He said before turning to the adults. "How much time do we have!?"

"Like...a few hours?" Dan answered, making Rei more excited.

"Great! Meet you back here later?" He said as he clumsily, got up, struggling to balance on one crutch while grabbing the fabric of Kai's sleeve and yanking him up too.

"Sounds perfect! You boys have fun now!" Dan said in a sly voice, gaining him yet another glare. He gave him a wink and waved by wiggling his fingers.

As Rei dragged Kai off, Dan chuckled and looked back at Charlotte.

"You know, I thought I was the Cupid here, but you...you're good!"

She giggled back.

"Just trying to help!" She said before gushing, "they both clearly like each other so much!" She said in almost a baby voice.

Dan gushed back.

"I knooooow! Its pathetic and almost painful to watch, but I love it!"

She nodded in agreement as he settled back down next to her again.

Quiet fell between them, enjoying the peace of the park and the crisp air.

He glanced at her a few times, wondering if now was the time

"...What is it, Dan?" she asked, not even looking at him. She could feel him looking.

He straightened himself up before plastering on his most charming smile.

"I was just wondering...what you think of my boy?"

She tensed, glancing at him before glancing away again.

"I'm not stupid, Dan...I know why you wanted me to meet him in person. You thought I'd feel sorry for him and be all right with you staying."

He wiggled his brows at her. He wasn't an idiot either. He knew she'd seen right through him...and she'd still agreed to it.

"All right, you've rumbled me...did it work?"

She let out a long sigh.

Yes, despite the moody, standoffish attitude, she liked him. In the several hours she'd known him, she could tell he wasn't your average teenager. Rei had said he held the tough guy image and held people at length to seem untouchable, but deep down he was a good guy. Just like Dan had said. She could see that.

He came across lacking in social skills, uncomfortable with people and to some extent, his own skin, it seemed to her.

It was obvious he thought highly of Dan, even if he wouldn't say it. He flared up at her in the restaurant talking about him, getting angry, but was clearly upset he may leave.

Did she think he could probably use a guy like Dan? Sure.

...But putting their lives on hold? She still wasn't sure.

"...I don't know, Dan..."

Rei sped his way to the arcade, Kai almost jogging after him. He had to admit, Rei sure knew how to move with those crutches.

The glass doors parted, a mixture of loud sounds smacking them in the face as they entered. From gunshots, to race-cars, to music.

Not to mention, it was Saturday afternoon. The place was heaving.

...Kai hated this already.

He followed behind Rei, figuring he'd take the lead.

But Rei seemed to just hobble aimlessly, trying his best not to get knocked in to or lose Kai.

After a few minutes of wandering, Rei took them to the side to think of an actual plan.

Kai's arms folded tighter. God this place was loud...hadn't he suffered enough in the car? "So...what do you wanna do?"

Rei shrugged at him. "I don't care, just no Dance Dance Revolution, don't think I'd be too good at it right now." He joked as he tapped his crutches, trying not to fall down with the crowd pushing around him.

Kai smirked before glaring and fighting the urge to grab the asshole that just knocked in to him.

"You think there's somewhere a little less...packed?" he asked, feeling himself getting irritated already by the crowd.

Rei let out a nervous smile. He couldn't agree more. But he did want Kai to have fun.

"Upstairs might be better, there's an elevator over there."

As they walked over, Kai glanced at him struggling on his crutches.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, just fine. Not easy trying to wade through a bunch of other bodies you know?" He said before he got the bright idea of taking hold of the end of his scarf in one hand, keeping it in his hold while also holding his crutch. "So we don't get lost, and if I fall down you'll know."

Kai let out a chuckle.

"Or choke me."

"I'll yell 'timber' if I start to go down. Only fair to warn you." he chuckled.

Kai turned and flashed him a smile. "You're too kind..."

They made it to the elevator, pushed the button and waited. As soon as the metal doors opened, they made their way in. As well as a sudden stampede of other people.

Rei found himself getting pushed to the back, against the wall, his grip on the end of Kai's scarf getting tighter. Afraid that he'd choke him, he let it go, but now he couldn't really see him as more and more people sardined themselves in to the elevator.

Kai felt his scarf pull against his throat before it loosened again. He looked back for Rei, but he was surrounded by a mass of heads and couldn't see him.

The doors closed.

He was wedged in between a bunch of people and felt instantly irritated and claustrophobic.

The elevator began to move, and suddenly stalled slightly.

Kai tensed. With the number of people crammed in, he was pretty sure they were over the weight limit.

The elevator tried to move and stalled once again. Harder this time.

Like a switch being flicked, a familiar stunning sense of dread and danger rippled through him.

He panicked even more.

" _Not again...not in public...please, not here..."_

Rei startled at the elevator stalling. As did some of the people around him. It was only a few floors up, it shouldn't take too long, he reasoned to himself.

He looked again, and thought he could see the top of Kai's hair past the tree of a teenager in front of him. He scorned himself for letting go of Kai's scarf as the elevator stalled a second time. He knew Kai wasn't going to like this.

"Hey, can I ugh, squeeze past you?" He said as he tried to move around the tree of a teenager, his foot getting stepped on and getting nudged in the side back to where he started...stupid crutches.

Kai's shaking hand pulled at the fabric around his throat as it started closing up, feeling like he was starting to suffocate. There was no air. A thin sheen of sweat appeared on the surface of his skin as he burned up.

His eyes darted up to the light on the elevator. What was taking so damn long?! He needed to get out.

His whole body began trembling. His heart slammed at an unnatural speed against his rib cage. He knew he'd get out. He knew it. But a little voice in his head was screaming that he wasn't, and his body believed it.

As his body delved further in to panic mode, his rationality disappeared and his mind followed suit, believing all the signals his body was telling him.

He was going to die in this fucking box...

His mind began spinning like an out of control carousel, feeling a horrible sense of vertigo.

He felt his upper body slump forward, slamming his hands on to his thighs to keep him upright as he gasped for air.

Rei felt his stomach drop as he a sudden scuffling at the middle and front of the crowd appeared, earning him another elbow in the side as the other kids and teenagers start to whisper and giggle about each other. Feeling as though something is wrong, he pushed past the tree and two other teens in his way to find Kai hunched over, clasping his chest.

He gasped and pushed his way through some others to get to him.

As he reached him, the elevator stopped and the doors opened, but no one moved as some of the kids decided this was a better show, making snide remarks and teasing him.

"...What's the matter? Can't handle an elevator?"

Rei's eyes slit as he turned his attention from Kai.

"Get out! Give him some room you morons!"

They continued to snicker, and lazily stood aside.

Kai struggled even harder to breath as utter humiliation joined the panic. The teasing made it ten times worse. He felt like the whole world is watching him. His heart pounded harder, and he felt like if it didn't slow down, it was going to just stop.

A deep growl left Rei's throat, his eyes slitting harder as he bared his fangs. "Did I fucking stutter?! Get the hell out, now!" He shouted loudly.

They finally listened and filed out, still sneering.

Rei put his hand out to stop the other people wanting to get on and slammed on the button for the roof before going back to Kai.

"It's alright, you're okay..." He said in a calmer tone, his hand rubbing Kai's back gently.

Despite his calm tone, on the inside he was freaking out. What was he supposed to do for him!? Last time, Kai hadn't wanted him there and now he felt responsible for this even happening.

Kai slumped back against the wall and gripped his chest harder. This hurt and was terrifying. He reached out and gripped Rei's shirt sleeve in a shaky death grip.

"Lemmeout!" he choked out with everything he had.

Rei nodded.

"Just hold on, it's taking us up to the roof, you'll be able to get some fresh air up there... I just need you to breathe, okay? Can you do that for me?"

He moved his grip to Rei's arm as he felt like his heart is about to explode.

"Rei..." breathed out terrified as he lifted his panicked eyes to him.

Rei took his hand from his arm and placed it on his chest, holding it there as he took in even and deep breathes. God this elevator is slow even without all the weight...

"Like this, in and out, c'mon I know you can do this, just a little bit longer..."

The doors finally opened and a gust of air hit them.

Rei immediately pulled him up with all the speed and strength he had, limping them out onto the roof top, leaving his crutches in the elevator, but right now it didn't matter. He had to be there for Kai.

He set him up against the side of the elevator shaft.

"Just keep breathing..." he encouraged, "Do you want me to call Mr. Harris to come help?" He asked nervously, placing Kai's hand back on his chest as he went back to breathing in and out for him.

Kai nodded.

Fuck, why now!? Why Rei!? He was the last person he wanted to see him like this...again!

...But part of him was still glad he was there. He pushed his hand against Rei's chest and did his best to focus on that rather than everything else his body was trying to make him do.

Rei smiled as he watched him trying his hardest to focus. His breathing was slightly better.

He felt a small swell of pride well up in him.

"Perfect, you're doing great Kai." He praised as his grip on his hand loosened a little, his eyes not leaving Kai's at all as he pulled out his phone and started to dial Mr. Harris with one hand.

Dan walked quietly, hand in hand with Charlotte. The air a little awkward after she wouldn't really answer him.

He knew better than to push her...

His pocket began to buzz and he reached in. It was Rei? They'd only been gone about twenty minutes...

"Nnnn-yello?" he answered curiously.

He stopped walking as he heard Rei's panicked voice.

 _Shit. Again?_

"OK, Rei, I need you to be as calm as you can, all right? He's going to be fine, he just needs to ride it out..."

Charlotte snapped her head to him, worried.

"Where are you guys? ...The roof? Perfect! Listen, you remember last time, right? Try and get him taking complete breaths and try and get him talking...we're on our way, but it'll probably be over by the time we get there. You're doing great, Rei!"

He hung up and pulled Charlotte back the way they'd come.

"Is he all right?!" she asked as she trotted beside him.

"He's having another panic attack..."

She gasped before picking up the pace to match Dan's.

This was the third one in a really short space of time...

Rei groaned as he heard the tone go dead. That wasn't really helpful at all...

"You never did tell me how the lunch went. Tell me about that, how was it?" he asked.

Kai lifted his eyes from Rei's chest.

"She's nuts...Two of 'em..." he breathed out.

He let out a slight laugh and nodded in agreement.

"She's not that bad. What did you have to eat?"

He gripped Rei's shirt harder...he was trying, but he couldn't for the life of him remember

"I...don't know..." he answered sharply.

Rei pressed Kai's hand to his chest harder, breathing in and out again, feeling him getting worked up.

"It's okay, I bet it was good, those parfaits were really good..." he continued before scrambling to find something else to ask.

"...So, did you like the Thai tea?"

"Mhmm..." he strained out and nodded, earning him a small smile from Rei.

"Well...we'll have to go back sometime. My treat."

Kai gave him a small smile back and blew out a breath.

"Sounds good..."

"How about next weekend?"Rei asked hopefully.

He shook his head.

"Can't...stupid school trip."

"Oh...right..." he answered, a little disappointed. He'd forgotten about that.

"So...where you guys going again?"

"Fucked if I know..."

Rei rolled his eyes, but was pleased to see he was able to talk clearer and the grip on his shirt was becoming softer. He was coming out of it.

"You should really pay more attention..." he scolded playfully.

"...I'm going to try and... get out of it." he said after a few moments of silence.

"...Why?" Rei asked as he arched a brow.

Kai looked away, embarrassed.

Rei's brow came back down.

"...You worried this might happen while you're there?"

He was met with silence again, which Rei took as a yes.

After a few more minutes of quiet, Kai rolled his head back, letting it hit the wall. The worst was over and his heart was back to a normal rhythm. But he felt wiped.

"...Fuck..."

"You all right?" Rei asked carefully. He knew it was a stupid thing to ask. But what else could he say?

"Yeh..." he answered, "and no...I can't keep up with this..."

Rei's brow furrowed a little in sympathy and started to rub his thumb along the back of his hand, still pressed up against his chest.

"It's alright... I just wish I was better at this... I'm sorry..."

Kai scoffed.

"I'm the one that's sorry...for embarrassing you like that..."

Rei arched a brow. "You did no such thing, I'm never embarrassed to be around you. Tyson, well that's a different story." He said with a laugh; his thumb still rubbing the back of Kai's hand like it had a mind of its own. "I probably sounded like a broken record though."

Kai shook his head, feeling awful for putting Rei in this position.

"You didn't...you were perfect...I mean I guess? You did what Harris did..."

His face heated up again at the compliment. "Well... He did help... In a way..." he chuckled a little. "He was right, it was over before he got here, though."

"That what he said?" Kai asked.

"Yeah..."

"Damnit, I hate it when he's right."

Rei let out a small laugh. "We're quite alike then, 'cus I loathe it when you're right."

"You must despise me then..." Kai smirked cheekily

He smiled back, showing a fang. "Maybe a little..."

He flinched suddenly. Now that his own adrenaline was leaving him after being so panicked, he felt the pain in his ankle start to make itself known.

Kai frowned.

"You all right?"

He hissed. "Yeah, damn ankle... And my crutches have probably been enjoying a nice ride up and down in the elevator.."

His face paled a little. "Unless someone ran off with them..."

Kai felt even worse. He hadn't even clocked on that Rei had hoisted him out the elevator without his crutches.

Great...him being a bitch hurt Rei...

"...I'm sorry..." he said guiltily.

Rei huffed and hit his arm gently.

"Stop apologizing, will you? You didn't do anything wrong."

He couldn't be bothered to argue with him. He just wanted to go home and hide away in his room a and never come out again.

How many people had seen him like that now? A whole staff room of teachers and now an elevator full of people...what next?

Rei tried to get him to look at him again, seeing him deflate.

"Let's get out of here, huh?" he said gently, his thumb still rubbing the back of Kai's hand.

Kai nodded, finally taking his hand off Rei's chest, causing Rei to wobble at the loss of support.

He instantly pushed himself off the wall to hold him and steady him, feeling his head spin as he did so.

Rei chuckled as he gripped on to him, seeing him look a little woozy as well.

"What a sorry pair we are, huh? How are we going to do this...?"

He thought a moment before hopping on one foot to Kai's side. "Here, give me your arm."

They fiddled around, trying to figure out where to put their arms around each other. Rei finally took Kai's arm and put it around his neck while he took his and put it around Kai's lower back. His heart raced again in his chest with how close they were, the warmth coming from Kai's body pressed up against his side. "It looks like we're about to do one of those two legged man races." He chuckled out, hoping not to sound too awkward.

Kai laughed awkwardly back. This was going to be difficult.

"Alright, let's go." Rei said with more confidence than he felt. The first two steps forward were hard to do, but eventually they made it over to the elevator door and button panel. Rei tried to shift a bit better on his foot, almost toppling them over again. "Sorry..."

Kai gripped him harder as he also wobbled. "It's all right..."

He gave him a sloppy fanged smile as he pushed the button, waiting in awkward silence for the damn thing to come back up.

It finally arrived.

Rei started to go first on instinct, forgetting Kai had been the one leading since he could use both feet. His hold around Kai's back dragged him in with him, making them stumble.

Rei's injured ankle hit the ground and caused a sharp hiss of pain to expel from his throat as he began to fall forward.

Kai panicked, throwing his other arm around to get hold of him, trying to correct them before they both ended up on the floor. Instead, they ended up spinning and stumbling back against the wall of the elevator, pinning Rei to it.

Rei gasped at the collision with the wall as well as the fear of falling and grabbed hold of him, pulling him tighter. Kai struggled to straighten himself up from the awkward angle he was in while in Rei's grasp, having to lean forward to get his footing back.

In the midst of this awkward scrambling Rei's head moved to meet Kai's, both feeling a pull and gently brushing their lips together.

Rei froze as a wave crashed through his entire body, going light headed for a second until he realized their lips were still touching, his eyes opening and nervously meeting Kai's as they parted.

Kai couldn't tell if he was having another panic attack again or not. His heart was slamming relentlessly against his ribcage again.

He jumped back, wrenching himself out of Rei's grip to put some distance between them.

"I uh..." his voice cracked before his mind went blank of anything to say.

Rei leaned back against the wall, keeping himself propped up, the elevator doors closing behind them. "That was my fault... I shouldn't have stepped first... I'm sorry, are you alright? I didn't hurt you did I?" He reeled off, going a mile a minute. His brain still hot and fuzzy, hardly able to think straight.

Kai shook his head and stayed silent, not knowing where to look, taking subtle, deep breaths to try and tame his racing heart.

"N-no...it's fine..."

"Are you sure? God I'm such an idiot, I'm so sorry Kai."

Kai tensed. He felt the idiot...it was him who put his face there...wasn't it? It was all such a blur now.

"It's _fine_..." he growled out in his gruff voice, defensively.

Rei snapped his mouth shut and sank at the rough voice. On the bright side, his crutches are actually there propped up on the other side of the elevator. Small blessings...

Kai's eyes looked everywhere but him and stayed silent. Was that a kiss? Was that his first fucking kiss!? Falling over like an asshole and snatching it!?

...Was that even what happened? He tried his best to replay it. Did he kiss Rei or did Rei kiss him?!

The air grew stale with as the damn elevator took its damn time. Rei's heart was about to burst out of his chest. He couldn't stand the fact that Kai wasn't looking at him and he felt terrible. He'd kissed him. The guy just had a panic attack, tried to help him in to the elevator and he went and... _kissed him_!

 _ **Why**_ had he done that?! He probably just fucked everything up! He cringed inwardly, tonight was going to be interesting when they got back to Kai's room...

As his mind filled with dread about what was going to happen next, he eyed his crutches.

He sure wasn't going to be able to use Kai as a support...

"Can... Can I have those?" He asked in a timid voice, nodding to the crutches across from him on the other side of the elevator.

Kai flushed even more red and nodded, grabbing them and passing them over, keeping his head down.

"T... Thanks..." He answered quietly, putting them under his arms.

The bell of the elevator pinged, finally reaching the first floor.

The doors opened and he waited for Kai to go first, his heart sinking as he watched him take no time in sweeping out of the elevator. He gave them some space before he hobbled on after him with his own head down low.

* * *

End of Chapter 17!

Slight cliffhanger, mwaahahahhaa! And there ya go, Kai and Rei progress...maybe? How will that go down?

Check back next time to find out!

Really hope you enjoyed it! Any comments would be very much appreciated!

See you next time!


	18. Awkward

Hello you lovely people!

So, I said it would be a while. Hasn't been that long, but managed to get the chapter together before I get hella busy! I've been using my last little bit of free time to get all my main stories updates one more time, and by god I managed it! (Victory punch!)

From **now** it'll probably be a while! I hope you'll bare with me!

This chapter is more on the serious side this time, but needed in my eyes.

Anyway, hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Chapter 18 – Awkward

His eye twitched a little with every tick of the clock.

This was only his second session with Dr. Freeman. But after everything else that had happened this week, he really wasn't in the mood to talk. Or be made to feel any worse.

Plus...talking and whining about stuff that 'bothered' you was just so _awkward._

He was grateful that the small talk at the start didn't last long.

Maybe because he kept it short and sweet. A lot of 'yes' and 'no' answers.

The doctor seemed to get the hint, spending the next little while trying to teach him simple deep breathing exercises to help calm him down when he felt himself losing his temper.

He did what he was asked half-halfheartedly.

As if breathing in and out was going to stop him feeling like he wanted to rip someone's head off...

That and frankly, he just couldn't focus on it.

He was more focused on the shit show that had taken place this week...

The slim doctor watched him carefully, very aware of the feeling that he was talking to a brick wall.

He'd come to meet him in the waiting area, getting hit in the face with the tension between him and his teacher.

Didn't take a genius to work out something had gone on.

He stopped what he was doing and rested his head on his hand.

"...Something on your mind, son?"

Kai looked up from his lap and shook his head silently.

The doctor raised a brow, unconvinced.

"Something happen with Mr. Harris? Couldn't help but notice the daggers you were trying to throw at him with your eyes."

Kai automatically tensed and shifted on the couch. He'd done as the good doctor had asked, coming in his own clothes this time to make him more 'comfortable'. But honestly, he would feel just as comfortable if he was sat on pointed rock.

He folded his arms roughly.

"Nothing out the ordinary..." he muttered vaguely.

The doctor's brow lifted higher.

"Am I to take it you two regularly come to blows?" he asked. From what he gathered last time, the two of them were quite close.

His hands gripped on to his arms harder as he felt the anger bubble up.

"Oh, only every time he decides to stick his stupid nose in my business and... _shit_ on everything!" he spat out, the volume in his voice rising and the fire in his eyes blaring.

Freeman fought a smirk and decided to press the matter. It was about time he showed some signs of life instead of blankly nodding or shaking his head.

"And what do you mean by that?"

Kai's angry eyes rolled as a small growl rumbled in his throat.

"Where do I even start!?" he near enough yelled as he shifted himself to the edge of the couch, ready to burst, "First the idiot bribed me in to joining a god damn _choir_! Me! A _choir_! Do I look like a frickin' alter boy to you?!"

"Wel-"

"No! I don't!" he answered for him, "Then when he finally got what what he wanted, he signed me up to sing in a contest without even asking me! I have to stand on a stage in a matter of weeks in front of god knows how many people, singing _Simon and Garfunkel_!"

"Ooooh, they take me back! What song?" the doctor smirked.

Kai's eye twitched.

"Bridge Over fuckin' Troubled Water!" he hissed, not enjoying the doc's approval of it.

"Ah, a classic..." he mused, ignoring his cursing before seeing his burning eyes and clearing his throat. The boy clearly didn't find this amusing...

"Sorry, continue."

Kai huffed before letting his rant roll on.

"That's not even the start! Then he decided he was going to put me center stage! Yeh! You heard! Out of all the other students, the ones that actually like to and can sing well, he picks me!"

The doctor shrugged.

"Maybe he thinks you're a good singer?"

Kai's eyes narrowed.

"Or maybe he just loves watching me suffer!"

Freeman couldn't keep in the chuckle.

"That's a little dramatic, wouldn't you say?"

Kai's eyes blazed brighter as he shook his head.

"Ohhhh, you don't know him...the man is a menace! The whole choir thing isn't even the tip of the iceberg! He keeps interfering in absolutely every aspect of my life! He keeps trying to push me to 'bond' with my classmates, even though I don't want to! I'm sixteen for god's sake! I can choose who I want to talk to, surely!"

"Well-"

"That's all before he went and brought one of my _actual_ friends to work at the school as a _teacher_!" he spat out loudly and angrily.

The doctor's brow lifted once again.

"Is that such a bad thing? I would have thought it would be nice having a friend around."

Kai opened his mouth and stopped as he realized he'd made a monumental mistake in letting himself go on a Dan-rant.

His face started to heat up.

How was he going to explain this without telling him about bringing him to class, the constant jabs and quips, the smug grins and eyebrows, the forced room sharing, the...showering.

His face got even darker...

Or explain about what happened last week and the disaster that followed.

"W-well..." he stuttered, avoiding his eyes as he watched him flush and squirm in his seat.

He debated more about what to tell him.

Despite usually dealing his problems by...ignoring them and not dealing with them, this particular conundrum he wouldn't mind some advice on.

Wasn't like he could ask Douche-bag Dan for it...or anyone else he knew personally.

This guy was sworn to confidentiality, right? Maybe he _could_ ask for his two cents on the matter.

He shook himself, what the hell was he thinking? He was supposed to be here because he was an angry little mess with a lot more pressing issues than a weird encounter in an elevator.

Besides, what did it matter anyway? It was beyond fixing now...Rei had made that pretty clear.

He let out a sigh as his face fell.

"It doesn't matter...we're not friends any more anyway..."

Dr. Freeman's brow furrowed a little as he watched him go from angry, to embarrassed and squirming to completely deflated.

"...You want to tell me what happened?"

Kai kept his head down as he shook his head.

"It's fine...anyway, we're supposed to be breathing or...whatever we were just doing."

Dr. Freeman tried not to roll his eyes. He knew he hadn't been listening to a thing he was saying.

"There's not much point if you're so distracted that you're not paying attention...now, I'm here to listen to _anything_ that is bothering you." he said in a softer tone, "you don't need to worry about judgement from me. Anything you tell me is strictly between you and I. Whatever it is, I'm all ears..."

Kai lifted his eyes to him and weighed up his options.

He didn't have to tell the _whole_ truth...

"Well..." he started as he shifted again, playing with the sleeves of his black sweater, "After my friend accepted the position at the school, Mr. Harris got the _wild_ impression that I...that I had a _thing_ for him..."

"...Oh?" the doctor asked, trying not to let another smirk crack.

Kai's face burned.

"Mm...and since he got that idea stuck in his head, he keeps making things a little awkward between us."

"How so?" Dr. Freeman asked curiously.

Kai just squirmed harder.

"Well...he just...he keeps putting me in really awkward positions...like, trying to push us together or making little comments..."

The doctor nodded, though didn't really have enough information to make a judgement. What counted as an 'awkward position'? The man was a teacher after all, it couldn't have been that bad...

"And this strained your friendship?"

He started to feel hot under the collar.

"Not until recently...see, because he's a weirdo, he thought I should meet his girlfriend?" he scoffed as he shook his head, "he tricked me in to that, as well..." he added before continuing, "I guess he filled her in on it, too...and since Mr. Harris would naturally only attract someone equally as odd, she jumped on board and sent me and...Trey...to an arcade together."

The doctor's brow lifted again. He hadn't been expecting this story.

"Anyway..." Kai's voice cracked out nervously, "we went...decided to take the elevator to a higher floor and the damn thing stalled...I don't know what happened, but it kicked off another panic attack..." he muttered out, embarrassed.

He saw the doctor open his mouth to comment on that, but cut him off before he could.

"Trey took me up to the roof to calm me down. It was fine and all..." he brushed off, "but Trey, he's got a busted ankle right now, see...and when he got me out the elevator, he left his crutches in there. After I calmed down, I had to help him in to the elevator- I wasn't feeling so hot myself, see..." he rambled, feeling his whole body on fire for what he was about to divulge.

"...anyway, when we got in to the elevator, I don't really know what happened, but he kind of tripped...I kind of grabbed him, and then, well I'm not sure how it all happened but I was holding him against the wall to keep him up and somehow..." he fired out without so much as taking a breath, "somehow, we touched lips...or something." he stuttered as he resisted the urge to fan himself, was it hot in here?

Dr. Freeman pursed his lips to stop the smile. Ah, teenage dramas...

"...So, you and your friend kissed?"

Kai's face burned uncontrollably as he waved his hands in protest.

"N-no! It wasn't a kiss! It was just an accident! I mean, stuff like that happens all the time, right?" he laughed awkwardly.

Dr. Freeman nodded at him, going along with him. For all he knew, it was.

"So, what happened after that?"

Kai sank in to his seat, hoping a portal would open up beneath him and suck him through, never to be seen by a soul again.

"Well..."

xxxx

The elevator doors weren't even half way open before he forced himself out of it, leaving Rei behind with his crutches.

He kept his head down, pushing himself through the crowded arcade that had caused this mess, desperate to get out the other side.

"Kai!" he heard coming towards him.

Oh God, not him...

He tried to ignore it and keep walking, only to be grabbed by the shoulders moments later.

"Hey! Are you all right?!" the concerned voice of his teacher came.

He raised his head reluctantly, looking at both his and Charlotte's worried faces as his frown formed.

Every ounce of awkwardness and embarrassment turned to anger. The sounds of all the machines only irritating him more.

None of this would have happened if they had just butted out. If Dan hadn't have insisted he meet his stupid girlfriend. If stupid girlfriend hadn't have insisted Rei join them for no reason, pushed them off together.

He tore himself from Dan's hold on his shoulders.

"I'm _fine_." he spat.

Dan would have recoiled if he weren't so used to him snapping at him.

"Where's Rei?"

Kai's fists clenched and his face colored. Out the corner of his eyes he saw some of the kids who were in the elevator when his panic attack kicked in, sneering and pointing at him.

His insides sank.

"He's coming..." he growled as he pushed past them, ignoring their protests as he sped himself out. He needed to get out this god damn building.

Dan and Charlotte turned back, seeing Rei hobbling towards them with his head down.

"Rei, is everything all right?" Dan asked as he walked to meet him.

The younger boy nodded, keeping his head down

"Yeh..." he lied, "I kind of hurt my ankle though, think it's swollen..." he answered quietly

Charlotte gasped and rushed to his side.

"We'd better get a doctor to look at it..." she said as she looked back around, "Where did Kai go off to?"

Dan sighed and looked around himself, hoping to God he just took himself outside to get out the crowds.

"He can't be far. Let's get you to the car, Rei..." he said tiredly as he and Charlotte helped him out, keeping an eye out for Kai.

Turned out, the young Houdini had done one of his famous disappearing acts.

Now Dan was tied. Getting Rei in the car, his ankle really was swollen up like a balloon. They did need to get him looked at...

But leaving Kai here?

In the end, they had no choice but to go, all he could do was keep calling him.

A few hours later, Rei was send hope with orders to keep his ankle lifted and to put an ice pack on it. He hadn't damaged the break any further, luckily.

They sat in the car, Charlotte driving Dan's car as he kept trying to get a hold of Kai.

"Damnit! Where the hell did he run off to?!" he growled angrily at the phone as he got no answer yet again.

Rei sunk in his seat. This was all his fault.

Charlotte clocked him in the mirror.

"Rei, sweety, please tell us...did something happen?"

He flushed and shook his head furiously.

Her brows furrowed.

"You sure? You're awfully quiet and he ran off..."

He sank further.

Kai had literally run from him.

He'd ruined everything.

His heart started to race a little more the closer they got to the school. How could he look him in the face? Stay in the same room as him?

He knew Kai...even if he apologised, it would be tense and awkward...

"Its not a big deal..." he started quietly as he juggled his decision in his head.

"But...Mr. Harris? If it's all right, I think I want to go back to my own room."

Dan immediately cancelled the call and turned around.

"Rei, what's going on?" he asked softly, this was worrying him. Kai not giving anything away, sure. But it wasn't like Rei to be so secretive. Both he and Charlotte had tried to get it out of him at the hospital to no avail.

Rei shrugged, not looking at him.

"It's nothing, really...just...I think we're spending a little too much time together. It's a small room for two people, ya know?" he said in the most casual tone he could muster.

Dan tried to turn even more in his seat.

"You two have a fight?"

Rei shook his head.

"Not exactly...it's fine, really. I just think it would be for the best." he said with a forced smile, brushing it off, "He's kind of a private guy, likes to spend his evenings quiet with a book...I like to watch loud movies and listen to music." he added, trying to be as convincing as possible.

Dan nodded, despite not being overly convinced. He clearly wasn't going to budge right now...but he'd get to the bottom of it. No one hid from Dan Harris, after all.

They arrived back at the school, Rei insisting on grabbing his things from Kai's room right away. He figured it was easier and less awkward than doing it when he was there.

Dan carried his bag while Charlotte helped him up the steps to the teacher's dorms, they eased him in, getting him on his bed and propping his ankle under some pillows.

Charlotte got him an ice pack from the nurses' office as the doctor ordered, setting him up as comfortably as she could.

"I'll come check on you later...you have Dan's number if you need anything, all right?"

Rei gave her an appreciative smile. For someone he barely knew, she sure was caring.

As they left him to it, Dan sighed.

"I'm sorry, gorgeous...I have to go look for him."

She sighed back.

"Still can't get a hold of him?"

He shook his head.

"Nah. Doing what he does best...Sorry our weekend took a bit of a weird turn." he apologised. This hadn't exactly gone as he'd planned.

She waved it off.

"It's fine...I'll come with you. Like you said, he couldn't have gone far."

They took themselves out of the teachers' dorms, walking out in to the main hall that separated the student and teacher's dorms.

As they came out, they saw a scarf heading towards the door to the students' rooms.

Dan felt relieved for a split second before he got mad.

Where did he run off to and why the _hell_ hadn't he picked up his damn phone?!

"Hey! Kai!" he yelled, his voice echoing through the hall as he ran over to meet him.

His call fell on deaf ears, his irate student throwing the door open and disappearing behind it, picking up his speed to get to his room and bolt it shut before he caught up.

Dan's eyes narrowed as he ran faster across the hall.

"Don't you _dare_!"

Kai continued to storm down the corridor lined with doors until he came to his. Quickly fumbling in his pocket to get his key and shoving it in the lock.

The main door to the dorms threw open.

"Hey! I need a word with you, _mister_!"

Kai shot him a side glare.

"Oh, spare me! You said yourself I could leave the school if I wanted, so I did!" he spat back before turning the key and pushing the door open.

His plan had been to go in and slam the door shut behind him. Block the door so he couldn't come in and lecture him.

He forgot about that the moment he walked in to his room and saw it was...empty.

Rei's stuff was gone.

...He'd _left_?

He felt a presence behind him.

"Why on earth did you run off!? You couldn't have just answered your phone and told me where you were!? I was worried sick! You could have been anywhere!"

The bombardment drilled in to his ears, like forks on a plate.

He spun around, eyes blazing.

"What the hell does it matter where I went?! I'm a big boy now, I can go where I damn well please!"

Dan frowned back at him.

"Of course it matters! You were under my care and you took off! You might be a 'big boy', but you're still a minor and a student at this school! It's my job as your teacher to know where you are!"

Kai clenched his fists.

"Then maybe you should stop _sucking_ at your job!" he yelled back at him, "You wanna pretend to be the responsible teacher now!? After all the inappropriate shit you've put me through?!"

Dan let out an exasperated huff, this was all he needed...

"Watch your mouth!" he said sternly but calmly, the last thing he wanted to do was fuel the flames, "What's the matter, huh? Did something happen with Rei?" he asked in a softer tone, hoping he'd simmer down.

Kai's teeth clenched to match his now shaking fists.

"The fuck does it look like?!" he roared at him, "all because you just can't help yourself!"

Charlotte appeared in his doorway. She'd heard it all down the hall.

She let herself in and shut the door, not wanting any more noise to carry before she turned to him, looking stern.

"You watch how you talk to him! He's your teacher! Show a little respect!" she scolded.

Troubled or not, any of her students used that kind of language with her would find themselves in front of the principle.

Kai's furious eyes snapped to her.

"And what the fuck has this got to do with you?! Why are you even here!? Get the hell out of here!"

Dan instantly held his hand up.

"Hey! Calm down! There's no need to talk to her like that...or me for that matter. I'm going to ask you again, what's the matter?"

Kai paced slightly with a face Dan knew all too well.

" _You_ are what's the matter with me! I keep telling you over and over and it never sinks in to that thick skull of yours!" he roared as his temper started to take over. "I am so sick and tired of you sticking your nose in where it isn't wanted!" he yelled before pointing a finger at Charlotte, "You really don't have anything _better_ to do than spend all your time thinking up new ways to make things difficult for me?!" he taunted, "Is your own love life _that_ boring that you need to invite your students along on dates for some entertainment?! I mean really, why else would you come up with the bright idea for me to meet her!?"

Charlotte stepped forward, opening her mouth to tell him exactly why. The ungrateful little shit needed to hear it.

Dan held his hand up and shook his head at her. He knew exactly what she wanted to tell him. He didn't want him to know that.

Instead, he folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. He figured he'd let him throw his fit, get it out his system. Then maybe they could have a rational conversation...

Charlotte's bit her tongue, her own patience running on empty.

No one talked to her Dan like that...especially this one. Not after everything he'd done for him.

"You know, I was _fine_ before you picked me as your little project!" he raged on, "I'd never had a fucking panic attack until _you_ got involved! I'd never had so many consistent fuck ups until _you_ started meddling! I honestly don't know if you're actively trying to ruin my life more, or if you're too fucking stupid to realize you're doing it! But I've had _enough_!" he yelled, his voice getting hoarse from yelling so hard, "Enough with your bullshit theory about your stupid choir somehow making everything better, enough with your little heart to hearts trying to make me tell you things that have fuck all to do with you and _**enough**_ with your...weird fixation on a sixteen year old's love life that _isn't even there_!" he yelled, "You are my music teacher! That's all you are! My tuition pays your salary, in return you check my name during registration in the morning, you give me some shit to learn to play on the violin and that's _it_! If you think latching on to some 'troubled' kid will make your own sad life better, then do me a favor and pick someone else! Maybe hurry that transfer along, huh?! Get you as far away from me as possible!"

He finally stopped, panting a little to let his lungs refill with air, each breath scraping his throat from having yelled for so long.

Dan chewed on the inside of his cheek for the duration of his outburst. He was used to him yelling at him and saying things that were less than flattering. Even though he knew he was doing what he always did, lashing out at him because he was there, it hurt.

"Boy...don't hold back and say how you really feel, Kai."

Kai's flaming eyes narrowed back at him.

"Oh, here we go! Treat everything like a big fucking joke!"

Dan shook his head.

"You see me laughing?"

Kai's eyes faltered a little.

Dan shrugged.

"I came in here because you ran off and I couldn't get hold of you. I was worried something might have happened to you. And that something happened between you and Rei. But...since I'm just the _music teacher_...guess I'll just...get back to my boring weekend." he said monotonously as he stuck his hands in his pockets and turned to leave. "See ya Monday." he said flatly as he opened the door and walked out.

Kai's burning rage cooled to a raging guilt in a heartbeat, not being helped by Charlotte, shaking her head at him.

"You know..." she started, fighting with everything she had to keep her voice calm, having just stood and listened to him throw absolutely everything Dan had done for him right in his face, "there's only so many times you can push people away before they just...stay away."

He squared his shoulders defensively.

"Yeh, well...fingers crossed this time he gets the picture and does just that." he spat back at her.

Her brow furrowed. What happened to the kid in the restaurant today? The one that was, all right, moody, but clearly thought very highly of him?

"You don't mean that and you know it...why are you being like this?"

He growled.

"Why the hell do I need to answer to you?! You two really are perfect for each other, can't help but get involved where it doesn't concern you!"

She blinked before she shrugged and turned, just like Dan had.

"We _are_ perfect for each other. And you're right. You don't need to answer to me. But just remember...you don't know what you've got til it's gone..."

He watched her go, not bothering to say anything else or retaliate. The second the door closed, he paced the room, steaming.

Tense knots formed in his stomach, his eyes caught his desk chair, storming over and kicking it as hard as it could, sending it toppling over.

xxxx

"Let me stop you there just a minute..."

Kai closed his mouth and finally looked up, having kept his eyes on the bottom of the doctor's desk the entire time he told the story.

"...Let's look at what happened there, shall we?" Dr. Freeman said softly.

"What do you mean?" Kai asked with a frown, causing the older man to tilt his head.

"Did Mr. Harris do anything to deserve that outburst?" he asked.

Kai's shoulders tensed.

"...Well, I mean, yeh! He does interfere all the time! Like I told you!" he bit defensively.

He got a head shake in return.

"I mean in that situation. Did he do anything that directly caused what happened between you and your friend? Did he shove your faces together?"

Kai flushed scarlet.

"Well...no...not directly, but-"

"There are no buts. Did he or did he not have a direct role to play in what happened?"

His shoulders slumped. Feeling awful.

Of course he didn't...

"No..."

The doctor nodded.

"What happened there was what is called 'displaced aggression'. You couldn't aggress towards the source of the issue, so instead redirected it at an innocent target."

Kai frowned, that almost made some sense...he guessed.

"But I wasn't angry at Re- I mean Trey..."

He nodded again.

"What did you feel immediately after it happened?"

He stuttered a moment as he squirmed again.

"...Embarrassed...awkward..." he admitted.

The doctor kept nodding.

"And your response was to run and distance yourself from it."

"Yeh."

"So tell me then, what was going through your mind when you took yourself off?"

He thought for a second.

"I don't know...I guess I just kept thinking about it to figure out what happened..."

The doctor gave him a small smile.

"You played it over and over again and again trying to reinterpret what happened."

Kai shrugged.

"I mean...I guess...don't most people do that though when stuff happens?"

His smile grew a little.

"They do, of course. But it's a rather destructive habit...we'll get to that. Tell me, how did you feel when you got back to your room and saw your friend had left?"

Kai went quiet again. He _really_ wasn't good at this stuff.

"I guess...sad?"

"Why?"

He frowned and scoffed. "What do you mean _'why'_?! I've lost one of the few people I actually care about because of something so stupid! Of course it doesn't feel good!"

"Is that what you were thinking about when you saw your empty room?"

"Of course! My best friend up and ditched me! Doesn't want to be in the same room as me!"

"So you were upset and worried about your friendship?"

"Of course!"

"Then Mr. Harris came in and you...?"

He sighed, this was exhausting.

"I thought I just told you, I tore him a new one! That doesn't explain what you were just saying about taking it out on him though..."

The doctor smirked harder.

"It does. Very clearly. As I've told you before, the root of basically all anger is anxiety. The incident with your friend left you feeling embarrassed and anxious about the fate of your friendship. You then went off and let it roll round and around in your head, making it worse. You came home to find he'd left, only cementing your fear that your friendship was at risk...in walks Mr. Harris and voila, you have a target to vent out your anxiety in the form of aggression."

Kai sat blinking.

That...made sense.

He thought about it harder, his mind running over every time he could think of where he'd blown up at him.

There had been plenty of times like that. Times where Dan hadn't directly done anything. Something else happened or someone else had said or done something...he was just there.

He'd shoved him in a meeting with the school councilor, telling him he had to get help.

He'd thrown a lamp at him when he came to tell him Mr. Dickenson had signed the paper that would force him to go.

He'd been furious when Rei heard from other teachers that he had to go to a psychologist...and ended up blaming it on Dan.

That was just to name a few.

Oh my God...he'd been using Mr. Harris as some kind of...emotional punching bag.

He _was_ a violent little thug.

He crashing wave of guilt overwhelmed him as he sat a little dumbstruck on the couch.

Dr. Freeman gave him a sympathetic look. He looked mortified with himself.

"This is why you're here, son. To fix it..."

Kai nodded, not feeling any better.

"...So that was Saturday?"

Kai nodded yet again.

"...How have things been this week?" he asked.

Kai sighed and rubbed his face.

xxxx

Kai walked down the hall Monday morning on his way to home room, dragging his feet behind him.

He'd spent the rest of the weekend in his empty room. He'd never realised quite how empty it was...until now, anyway.

He walked in to his classroom, the usual sound of chatter of the other students as he walked in.

"Morning Kai!" came Reuben's voice. As always.

Not today.

He kept his head down and went to his desk.

Scotty frowned as he watched. He hated this. Sometimes he'd reply, sometimes he'd just nod, but at least it was acknowledgement...other times he decided his buddy wasn't worth the immense effort of a 'hey'.

"Pfft...jerk." he spat snidely, loud enough to make sure he heard it.

Despite feeling his insides tense, he kept himself cool on the outside and sat himself down, folding his arms.

Reuben frowned, too. Maybe he was feeding off Scotty. Or even the sour waves coming from Kai. But he'd about had enough of being ignored, too. What was with this guy?

"Yeh...he is." he muttered in agreement as he turned himself around in his seat away from him.

Kai rolled his eyes. Whatever. These chumps were the least of his worries.

The bell went. One of his bigger worries walking in with his usual smile plastered on his face.

"Goooooood morning, all! Hope you had a good weekend!" Dan said cheerfully as he threw down his files on his desk, putting his hands on his hips. "And I hope you're all stoked for next weekend's trip! I know I am!"

Kai relaxed. Dan was fine...

After some whispering amongst his classmates about the trip died down, Dan called out their names for registration.

He listened and waited for his to be called out.

"Adam?"

"Here!"

"Scotty?"

"Here!"

"Kai?"

He looked up. His voice had definitely changed for his. Not as bubbly as the others. More flat.

...or maybe he was just reading too much in to it.

"Here."

He watched him for the rest of home room...he seemed exactly the same as always, but there was a niggle in him that told him something was off.

He left as the bell went again, quickly replaced by Mr. Simmons to start another Monday morning at St. Tristan's.

He sat with his pen in his hand, taking notes absent-mindedly as another one of his bigger worries rolled around his head.

He had Chinese class fifth period.

Hadn't seen or heard to Rei since...

Did he go and just...pretend like nothing happened? Couldn't avoid him forever.

They'd had a little space...surely it'd be fine.

With each period that came and went, he questioned that more and more.

It wasn't like Rei to up and run. He was usually the first one who wanted to 'talk stuff out'.

Finally the bell came for lunch.

He took himself to the almost empty library, going to his usual cubby with a book.

Instead of reading it, he watched the clock tick the seconds until he had to go and face the music.

With every tick, he felt himself get more nervous.

Rei hobbled up to his classroom, feeling just as nervous. He hadn't heard a thing from him...though that was hardly surprising.

How was he going to be with him? Would he stone-wall him? Likely, this was Kai after all..

He'd just have to power through. He had a job to do, after all. They could talk later.

And say what, though? He'd been wondering that all weekend. Still hadn't come up with anything.

He watched the clock tick down the remaining minutes until the bell went. Students starting to file in and take their seats.

His heart beat harder as his stomach squirmed. It wasn't unusual for him to be late...it was fine.

The bell went.

He still hadn't come.

That was fine...sometimes he came a few minutes late...

"All right, let's get started! Open your books to page 40!" he said as brightly as he could.

Twenty minutes in, he knew he wasn't coming.

Kai sat on the ledge in amongst the bookshelves where he usually went. Trying to bury down the niggling guilt.

He bailed on class. Wasn't his first time, and usually he didn't care. But this time...

He snuck back in for last period, Ancient History. Away from everyone he didn't want to see.

Now his next problem. Choir practice after this...

He felt his stomach wriggle ever harder as he walked himself in to the music room. The second he walked in he saw Scotty turn around, look him up and down and turn away.

He kept himself to the side like he normally did. No one came to try and talk to him like they normally did.

Dan waltzed in a few minutes late with his stupid grin, as usual.

Lining up, they took their places. Warming up their voices like they always did and singing that god damn song a bunch of times over and over before their hour was up.

Dan dismissed them, waving them off as they left.

As always, Kai hung back a little. He was always the last one to leave, asking Dan for some pointers to make sure he was up to scratch.

His face fell when Dan didn't go to his piano like he usually did. Instead, he picked up his file of papers and made his way to the door without so much as a glance.

Kai's mouth opened to call out to him, but it was too late. He'd gone.

The door clicked shut, leaving him alone in the music room.

...Dan wasn't fine.

After another night in his empty room, he made his way down to home room Tuesday morning.

He slid the door open and walked in, heading to his desk.

He settled in to his chair before he realised.

Reuben hadn't said anything.

He looked up and saw him sat in his desk as usual, talking with one of his friends.

Maybe he was just deep in conversation...

Another day of quiet followed. Luckily, there was no Chinese class to bail today.

Instead he had music...

He walked in with his head down and got his violin out, sitting himself where he was meant to be with the others.

Dan came in...a few minutes late of course, grinning and bubbly.

"All right boys, let's kick this piece's butt!"

He did as he was told. Albeit not giving it his all.

He slipped up on purpose a few times, just to see if he'd say anything to him.

He did...he corrected him. But it wasn't like it always was.

It was...to the point and blunt.

Same with choir practice.

He was the same as he always was, but completely different at the same time.

Wednesday morning, he walked in to his home room.

Reuben didn't notice him come in again...

Dan's voice seemed flat when he called his name.

He couldn't come in to Scotty's line of vision without getting a look from him.

He still hadn't seen or talked to Rei in three days.

He sat quietly throughout the first four periods.

He sat quietly in the library at lunch, dreading another music class followed by another awkward choir practice.

Which is exactly what he got.

He went, played the piece, got corrected when he needed it.

Nothing out the ordinary, and yet it felt horrible.

Because it was just that, ordinary. It was like Mr. Harris didn't know him.

Where were the goofy jokes and the little jabs at his expense?

Where was the encouragement?

….Where was Dan?

Like the day before, the moment the bell went, Dan left immediately.

It didn't matter too much...he'd be seeing him in a matter of minutes for choir practice...

He waited for the other choir members to show up, feeling his stomach sink when Scotty strolled in.

He didn't even really know why it bothered him so much that he'd seemed to take a dislike to him all of a sudden. It wasn't like they were overly chummy with each other.

Still, he found himself giving him an awkward nod when Scotty's hazel eyes glanced over at him. Only for him to turn his head and keep walking.

His stomach clenched harder.

Dan came in on time for once, going through the same motions as always.

Warm up.

Run through.

Pointers.

Again.

Pointers.

Again.

Kai's chest was clenched the entire time. He couldn't stand this. It was getting under his skin.

Why did he seem completely fine and yet so off at the same time?!

He had to break the damn ice.

The moment he dismissed them, he waited back for the others to leave.

Dan grabbed his things to leave, like the past few days.

"Mr. Harris!" his voice cracked in an unintentional yell.

Dan turned, looking blank in the face.

"Hm?"

"I- well..I was wondering if maybe we could go over that tricky part at the end again?" he stuttered out awkwardly.

Dan bit the inside of his cheek.

"...We'll go over it tomorrow during practice. Time's up." he said flatly as he turned himself to go.

Kai's stomach felt like a ball of snakes were slithering in there.

"Can't we jus-"

Dan snapped his head back around.

"I'm just the music teacher, remember? And the music teacher finishes practice at 4:30."

His voice wasn't angry. It was flat.

And that made it cut even more.

He stood and watched him go, a little stunned.

Dan had never been that way with him.

As the door clicked shut, leaving him alone yet again, he frowned.

Fine...if Dan was going to be so frickin' petty then...whatever! This was exactly what he wanted anyway, for him to back off...

He took himself up for another quiet night in his empty room. He'd spent every night alone in his room before Rei came. But now, all of a sudden, he felt more lonely than he ever had.

He'd gotten exactly what he kept saying he wanted.

Now he had it, he realized he didn't want it anymore.

xxxx

"...And that brings us up to now." Kai wrapped up quietly, feeling his chest clench yet again, "so yeh...not the best week."

Dr. Freeman tilted his head as he took in everything he'd told him.

"So things are a little frosty between you and Mr. Harris still?"

Kai nodded, feeling his heart sink a little more.

The car ride here had been awful.

No music. No singing. No talking...just awkward silence.

He should have been happy about that, but he wasn't.

"Have you talked about it with him?"

Kai scoffed and folded his arms again.

"Tsch, no!"

Freeman raised a brow.

"And why not?"

"Because..." he started before stopping.

He'd just said he hadn't deserved what he'd said to him. And it was true. So what reason could he give?

Freeman sensed he couldn't answer.

"All right, let me ask you this. Why is Mr. Harris being this way with you?"

Kai sank in his seat.

"...'cause I told him to leave me alone..."

"And why did your classmate stop greeting you in the morning?"

He sank further.

"...'cause I never bothered answering."

"Why hasn't Trey approached you?"

"...'cause I _fucked_ it all up!" his voice cracked as his eyes watered a little.

Freeman looked at him sympathetically.

"Do you maybe not think it was more the fact that you ran? Avoided him and his class?"

"But he's the one who moved out my room!"

"And didn't you run first?"

"Well, yeh-"

"Do you think maybe that would give him the impression you didn't want to resolve the issue? Especially if you then went on to avoiding him at school."

Kai's emotions mixed again as his hands gripped his jeans.

"Fine! Everything is _my_ damn fault! I'm a _complete_ asshole! Is that what you're trying to get me to say?!" he yelled.

Freeman didn't seem phased.

"That's not exactly what I'm saying..."

Kai rose from his seat.

"It sure fucking sounds like it!" he raged, "You're saying everything is on me! That I'm the one that made everyone turn on me!"

Freeman's face didn't change as he watched his temper flare.

"Wouldn't you say that was the case?"

Kai's eyes burned.

"What do you want me to say, huh?! I get it, I'm a _shitty person_!"

Freeman held his hand up.

"Why are you yelling?"

"Because you're a _dick_!" he spat.

"I am? Because I'm trying to make you see there are consequences to your actions?" he replied calmly.

Kai stayed quiet, but his face got more riled up.

"Breathe like we did earlier. Remember, don't attack, take a step back." Freeman instructed.

Kai clenched his fists and rolled his eyes at the cheesy line, but did as he was told for once.

He inhaled deeply through his nose and held it a second before blowing it out, like he'd showed him. He felt ridiculous...

"Now..." Freeman continued, "I'm in no way saying you're a bad person. But you're letting your anger control you and it looks like it's destroying your relationships left, right and center."

Kai blew his breath out a little harder, trying to quell the anger at the criticism.

"Every time you snap, get angry and yell, you're handing your power over and letting it control you. Letting it win. Has you like a puppet on a string."

Kai's eye twitched as he sucked in air harder. He didn't like what he was saying.

"Be honest with me. After you blow up at someone, after you've calmed down, how do you feel?"

He blew out a puff of air.

"Shit..." he admitted quietly.

"Why?"

He did another breath.

"Because I know I hurt them..." he admitted.

Freeman nodded.

"Well...hurt people tend to hurt people. Out of interest, why do you ignore that boy in your class?"

Kai sucked on the inside of his cheek.

"...I don't know."

"Well, think about it. Do you not like him? Did he wrong you in some way? Or is it because you know it'll make him feel bad. Rejected. Just like you do..."

Meanwhile, Dan's head lifted up in the waiting room as he heard raised voices coming from behind the closed door.

He sighed before shifting in his seat.

Should he go in there?

No...he shouldn't interfere. And besides, Charlotte was right. He had to stay strong and give him exactly what he asked. To stay away from him and not butt in. Make him realize that what he said and did hurt people.

It wasn't easy...lord knows he wanted to cave every time he saw in his eyes that he knew he'd done wrong, that it was fine, he was still his little fire-ball, ruffle his hair and then pry about Rei. Get back to normal.

But again, Charlotte was right, Kai had to come to him. He couldn't expect people to go running after him all the time...

A little while later, Kai was sat back on the couch, fighting back the tears budding in his eyes.

The doctor kept on and on, making him take a good look at the story he'd told him. Picking apart what he did and said to everyone involved and coming to the same conclusion.

He was hurting them.

He really was a complete asshole...

The doctor pushed himself out his chair and went to sit beside him.

"...I know it sounds like I'm trying to make you feel like a horrible person, but that's not the goal here. You see, everything you're describing sounds like very typical behavior for people with the same issues as you...it's not because you're an evil person, not that you enjoy hurting people...its a reaction to anxiety, depression and anger. All of them working together to keeping you stuck in a destructive cycle. But even though there's a reason behind the way you react to things, it doesn't make it all right. And it's not until you really see and understand what you're doing and why you're reacting the way you are, that you can change it. Like with a lot of things, acknowledgement is the first step."

Kai nodded, afraid he'd blub if he spoke. He felt low. Crappy. Like he wanted to crawl in to bed and stay there forever.

"In all honesty, we were meant to go over this a little slower..but after that story you told, seemed like we needed a crash course." Freeman continued as he rubbed the back of his head, that had been quite intense. Felt like he was interrogating the kid to make him get it. "We'll really get in there over time, but in terms of your current predicament, if you want to make things right with your friend, your classmates and your teachers, you need to be able to step up and admit you were wrong, even though I can see you've been hiding behind excuses that pins blame on everyone else."

Kai sucked on the inside of his cheek again.

"I don't think a 'sorry' is going to fix any of this..." his voice cracked.

He'd said horrible things to Dan.

And it wasn't like he and Rei could just go back to normal after what happened...he may have bolted, but so had Rei. He clearly was feeling weird about it, too.

Hell, he even doubted Reuben would accept an apology from him after blanking him for almost an entire year.

Freeman patted his back.

"I think people are more understanding than you give credit...especially if you actually let them in instead of pushing them away."

Kai nodded. God knows how many times he'd heard that one before...he just never listened to it.

The doctor glanced at the clock.

"I'm afraid our time is up for today. When you come next week, I'll be hoping to hear about some progress." he smiled at him.

Kai nodded a thanks and got up, feeling the snakes in his stomach wake up.

Now the car ride back to hell with Silent Dan.

As he walked out the office, he tensed up as he saw Dan lift his head and get up from his chair, blank faced.

He only cracked a smile when the doctor came out as he thanked him before going back to deadpan, the two of them silently went to the elevator.

Kai's hands opened and closed at the tension.

Did he just blurt out an apology? What would he even say?

The elevator door opened and Dan walked out.

He followed with his tail between his legs.

They got in the car again and put on their belts. Quietly.

Dan passively glanced over at him.

"How'd it go?" he asked flatly.

Kai kept his head forward and nodded, feeling his damn eyes well up again.

"Yeh, good..." he replied quietly.

Dan nodded back, despite inwardly being really happy to hear it as he pulled out the parking space and started the drive back.

Now it had flipped on him, Kai couldn't stand the quiet.

"He uh...he made me see some stuff..." he added after a good few minutes of silence.

Dan turned his head, not expecting any details from him.

"Oh yeh?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice plain.

"Mmhmm..."

Dan lifted a brow when nothing followed that noise.

"...Like...?" he prompted dully.

Kai kept his watering eyes on the road. He was terrible at this kind of thing, but he had to try.

"...Like how I've been a dick..." he muttered out, "said horrible things I didn't mean to people who didn't deserve it to just name one..." he choked out.

Dan gripped the wheel harder. Did he mention giving this kid the cold shoulder was torture? Even if he could, as he himself so eloquently put, be a dick.

"And 'cause I'm a dick...I've pushed absolutely everyone away. I thought I wanted everyone to leave me alone, but now they have..." his voice wobbled with a slight sniff as he trailed off, trying to reel it in. It didn't matter how guilty he felt, he didn't want to sob in front of him.

Dan waited for him to continue, but instead, he went quiet again.

He screamed in his head. He'd agreed with Charlotte he got nothin' til he apologized. Needed some tough love.

He _knew_ he was aiming at an apology. God, he was _so_ close.

Why did he suck so much at the 'S' word!? Stubborn little shit...

He made the mistake of glancing over again and saw his face painted in remorse. On the verge of tears.

It made him cringe almost, desperate to throw everything his queen told him to do out the window.

He had to give him _something._

He reached for his iPod.

This way he didn't need to break any of the rules Charlotte lay down. She'd know...somehow.

Power of music, he was always saying it.

He scrolled through to the song and hit play.

Kai's ears pricked up as an all too familiar intro broke the silence.

He'd heard it multiple times a day for god knows how long now.

Ah, jeez...

 _When you're weary, feeling small_ _  
_ _When tears are in your eyes, I'll dry them all_ _  
_ _I'm on your side, oh, when times get rough_ _  
_ _And friends just can't be found_ _  
_ _Like a bridge over troubled water_ _  
_ _I will lay me down_ _  
_ _Like a bridge over troubled water_ _  
_ _I will lay me down_

His eyes welled up harder. He'd sung this song thousands of times by now, but the actual words never meant crap to him. Was just a lame old song.

...Damnit, why did his stupid teacher have to be such a cheesy loser?!

 _When you're down and out_ _  
_ _When you're on the street_ _  
_ _When evening falls so hard_ _  
_ _I will comfort you_ _  
_ _I'll take your part, oh, when darkness comes_ _  
_ _And pain is all around_ _  
_ _Like a bridge over troubled water_ _  
_ _I will lay me down_ _  
_ _Like a bridge over troubled water_ _  
_ _I will lay me down_

 _Fuck._

He couldn't hold it in any more.

He missed the dumbass. He'd done him wrong.

All he'd ever done was try and help him and in return he threw it right back in his face again and again.

 _God_ he hated feeling like this.

His face uncontrollably strained before a sob expelled from his chest.

"I'm sorry, Dan..." his voice strained as his head fell in to his hands.

Dan did a double take.

He said sorry?

..He was crying?

...He called him _'Dan'_!?

The power of music! He was always saying it!

He instantly flicked the indicator, pulling over at the side of the road.

The moment the car stopped, he threw off his seat belt and awkwardly threw himself at him, pulling him in.

"It's all right buddy..." he comforted as he felt a lump in his throat himself.

"No it i-isn't! I didn't mean all that shit I s-said!"

Dan couldn't help but be speechless for a second. He was lettin' it all out. He'd seen Kai well up, choke up, but never full on cry.

He knew that doctor was good.

"I know you didn't...and you're not alone, you hear me?" he said firmly as he rubbed his back.

Kai nodded in to him. He'd cringe about this later. Majorly so. But right now, it felt good.

"I know I blanked you for a few days...but you can't say shit like that to people, man..."

Kai couldn't help but smirk despite still sniffling.

It just occurred to him that when it was just the two of them, he sure swore a lot.

"I know...I'm really sorry. I'll work on it."

Dan pulled away and clapped his shoulders.

"That's my boy!" he said before pausing.

"...And you actually had some fair points...I do overstep the mark myself sometimes...I'm sorry too."

Kai shrugged. The awkwardness starting to set in and get uncomfortable.

"S'alright." he brushed off in as manly a voice as he could while he tried to subtly wipe his eyes.

Dan, on the other hand, was itching to ask about Rei.

But this wasn't the time.

He'd get 'em.

He cleared his throat. Now that was over...

"I think to cement your apology, you owe me at least one car-eoke." he said with his playfulness back in his voice as he picked his iPod back up.

Kai wiped his eyes as he frowned.

"...Seriously!?"

Dan shrugged.

"I mean sure...if you don't want my forgiveness..."

Kai lifted a brow.

"If you want mine, you'll put that iPod down."

Dan wiggled his brows at him as he found what he wanted and hit play. May as well keep with tradition...if you could call it tradition after only one time.

 _Is this the real life?_ _  
_ _Is this just fantasy?_ _  
_ _Caught in a landslide_ _  
_ _No escape from reality_

"C'mon baby Freddy..." he grinned at him.

"Mr. Harris, I real-"

"Open your eeeyeeees, look up to the skies and _seeeeeeeee!_ " his teacher cut off.

Kai sighed...

Fuck it, what the hell...was the least he could do, really.

" _ **I'm just a poor boooyyyy, I need no sympathy..."**_

Dan's eyes burst in to light.

"YES!"

A few Scaramouches, Galileo's and Bismilah's later, they arrived back at the school. Both feeling a like a weight had been lifted. Lighter.

The school day was done. His appointment being later in the afternoon this time.

Which was great...but for Kai, it also meant going back to his empty room.

At least he had a lot of homework to do...

He and Dan parted ways, him going back to the teacher's room, the other going back to his dorm.

The moment Dan's butt hit the chair he pulled out his phone.

" _He said sorry. I said sorry. He cried. We hugged. Sang Queen. It was awesome. Love ya!"_

As soon as he set it down, he picked it up again, making a little sound that he forgot something.

" _And he called me Dan!"_

Kai opened the main door to the student doors and dragged his feet down the halls, taking his sweet time.

Maybe it was a good thing he was alone anyway. The doc really had given him a lot to think about...

He heard a door open and stopped in his tracks when a very familiar giggle echoed down the hall.

A few doors ahead of him, Scotty came out his room with Rei thrown over his shoulder. Reuben followed a few seconds later holding his crutches for him.

Scotty met Kai's eyes and put Rei down, the second Rei clocked eyes on him, the giggling stopped. All sound being sucked out the air and instead filled with awkwardness.

Scotty glanced between them, since they just kind of stared at each other before frowning at Kai and tapping Rei's arm.

"C'mon." he mumbled before Reuben handed him his crutches.

Scotty lead the way, walking towards Kai before passing him, making his stomach drop a little.

Reuben followed, making it drop a little more.

Rei's crutches tapped on the floor, getting louder as he got closer, keeping his eyes down as he hobbled by him.

His stomach plummeted.

He stayed where he was, feeling rooted to the spot as he listened to the sound of the crutches getting further and further away before the main door clicked closed, leaving him alone in the hall wondering...

 _What the fuck just happened?_

Suddenly, the weight that had just been lifted off his shoulders slammed right back down again, bringing with it a black cloud to hang over his head again.

He breathed out, making himself continue his walk down the hall, feeling like a blanket made of iron had been draped over him.

He shoved the key in the lock, opened the door and slipped in to his very empty room.

* * *

End of Chapter 18.

I really hope you enjoyed it! I'll do my best to update as soon as I can, but this time I mean it when I say it'll probably be a while! :(

As always, thank you so much for reading!

Any comments would really be appreciated!

See you next time!


	19. Welcome to the Jungle

Hello, darling readers!

It's been a while, but finally managed to get something done!

The past month has been heeeecticccccc. Life has taken a super busy turn. Hope you'll forgive the late updates!

I'll shut up and get to it. But as usual, I really would like to thank everyone who left a comment! You guys really make my day!

Big thanks to Luxah once again for listening to me drone on about this chapter, give me opinions and help with the dialogue at the end of this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 19 – Welcome to the Jungle

Excited chatter filled the bus, ignoring the guitar riff coming from the speakers at the drivers seat.

Dan was currently bobbing violently from side to side of the steering wheel he was gripping while Mr. Simmons sat beside him wishing he wasn't.

" _ **Welcome to the jungle, we've got fun and games! We got everything you want, honey we know the names!"**_

Mr. Simmons shook his head at him. He was an odd one...fun to work with though.

Dan caught it out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh, lighten up, Tim!" he scolded, "It's bad enough we have to spend our weekend with these chumps, may as well make the best of it!"

His comment earned him a few offended ' _hey_!'s from students who happened to be in earshot.

"Love you guys really!" he called back before giving his partner a slap on the arm, "C'mon, lighten up! Groove with me! What's your jam?"

Tim smirked.

"Actually used to be a big Guns N Roses fan..." he told him somewhat bashfully, "saw them live once at Greenfield Stadium."

Dan shot his head towards him.

"No kidding, so did I! What year?"

Tim racked his brains.

"Well...it was for my 23rd so that would make it...like, '95?"

Dan gasped.

"No shit! That's when I went!"

Tim chuckled.

"Really? Small world!"

Dan's mind was blown.

"Remember when they played this?! Slash was all like _nuhnuhnuhnuh!_ " he exclaimed excitedly as he air guitared.

"Oh my god, yes!" Tim joined in, Dan's vibrancy seeming to rub off a little, "Big hat and everything! Was such a good show! Couldn't feel my neck for like two weeks after!"

Just a row back, Kai sat watching and rolled his eyes while he fought a smirk, wondering if Mr. Simmons was Dan's new victim for 'car-eoke'.

"Yo, Mr. H! What's the hold up?" Scotty's voice echoed from behind him, making him sink a little in his seat.

Dan turned around in his seat to see him.

"Waiting for the last straggler is all!" he told him before meeting Kai's eyes and turning back.

Despite having just made amends with his fireball, apologising for meddling, he couldn't help himself.

This time, it was different, though.

Those two still hadn't cracked about what had happened. No matter how much he tried to get it out of them. As far as he knew, they hadn't so much as uttered a word to each other in coming up a week.

The look in Dan's eyes made Kai frown slightly as he sat up a little and glanced back at the others, doing a head count.

The dreaded school trip had come. A whole weekend spent with his home room going around some museum followed by a 'fun-filled' camp...

Sounded awful. But neither Dan nor Mr. Dickenson would budge on letting him get out of it.

He counted 11 heads...all present and correct.

There were 12 students in his class, but one of them wasn't coming because his grandfather died.

Lucky bastard...

His envy was soon quelled by a sinking sense of dread in the pit of his stomach.

The look in Dan's eyes.

One extra spot on the bus...

"Heeeey! There he is! Welcome aboard, slowpoke!" his teacher's voice boomed.

The sound of crutches struggling to climb on filled his ears.

Oh god, he hadn't...

Sure enough, long dark hair and amber eyes he hadn't seen in what felt like forever appeared right before him.

Their eyes met for a second, feeling like an awkward eternity before Rei looked over his shoulder with a smile, thanking the teacher who had helped bring his bag out for him.

Kai took the chance to avert his eyes down to his lap.

Rei glanced at him again, seeing his blatant blanking again and felt his heart sink.

Dan insisted he come along on their trip...something about making up numbers and getting him out the school. He'd tried his best to decline, but saying no to Dan was near enough impossible.

Rei's forced smile stayed as he saw Scotty waving to him on the opposite side of Kai, a few seats back.

"Rei! Saved you a seat!"

Kai tensed in his own seat.

Judging by what happened in the corridor the other day, those guys were the best of friends now...

This just kept on getting worse...

Dan jumped up, leaning his knee on his seat as he did a head count before beaming his trademark grin.

"All right! Everyone is here! You guys ready to get going?!" he yelled.

Most of the students obliged him with a small cheer.

Satisfied, the excitable music teacher sat himself down, feeling powerful at the large steering wheel and cranking up the volume of the drivin' tunes CD he'd burned for himself and Simmons to jam to while they drove them and turned on the engine.

Feeling the bus vibrate, they all settled down as well, not letting the excited chatter die down.

Kai's brow twitched. Not only were the golden oldies of rock hitting his ears, but the sound of Rei's voice mixing in with it.

He yanked out his headphones from his jacket pocket and plugged them in to his phone.

Three hours til the museum..at least he managed to get a seat by himself...even if it was right at the front.

This was going to be a long, sucky weekend.

Dan caught a glimpse of him in the mirror, as well as Rei sitting away from him.

He'd get them talking by the end of the weekend...

Three and a half hours, God knows how many failed attempts at getting Simmons to do bus karaoke with him and a few unscheduled stops for snacks later, they pulled up at an enormous stone building. Stone pillars and standing before the huge entrance way.

They filed out the bus, the small group of blue jackets and purple ties waiting around and stretching off the bus ride.

Dan and Mr. Simmons huddled them together.

"All right boys! Let's get the boring educational stuff out the way before the fun begins!" Dan yelled out to them as the chattering went quiet.

"Listen out for your groups! You're to stay with them here at the museum as well as at the camp!" he informed them, "No breaking off on your own please!"

They listened out in anticipation.

"Henry, Oliver, George, Lloyd!" he called out, looking up to see them bunch together, smiling a little at the happy reaction.

"Adam, Ben, Giles, Sam!"

He looked up again. That reaction wasn't quite as happy...three out of the four of them were fine. But too bad, Giles had to go somewhere.

The three remaining students and temporary teacher tensed.

"Which leaves Scotty, Reuben, Kai and Rei!" Dan said proudly. From what he saw, those were the ones Kai got on the best with in the class, plus Rei seemed friendly with them, too. It was perfect.

Little did he know, it wasn't perfect at all. The four of them shifting their feet quietly.

Mr. Simmons walked around passing out papers to them all.

"You're going to go off with your groups. Your group has been assigned a route to follow. Answer the questions as best you can or your history teacher will have your heads." he joked, "Mr. Harris and I will be stationed at the cafe if you need anything. Make sure you're all back by 4pm on the dot!"

Dan took the chance to fist bump his partner. No boring old stuff for them. They could kick back with some coffee and cake like champions.

The students ignored the embarrassing display of attempted coolness and broke off, taking themselves up the stone stairs and checking their papers.

Kai stayed still for a few extra moments to glare at his teacher. Of course he'd put him with three of the four people who couldn't stand him...this could only be worse if he'd shoved him with Giles.

"Hey...Kai. Let's go." a blunt, low bark came from behind him.

He turned his glare to see Scotty's equally sour face, Reuben and Rei already making their way up the stairs.

He silently walked by him and followed the others up. He may have to go to the same areas with them...didn't mean he had to talk to them.

Scotty rolled his eyes, giving him a little head start before going up with him.

This was supposed to be fun...

Reuben stood anxiously in the impressive, tall lobby as he saw his best friend and Kai coming. He hated this tension. Couldn't they all just get along!?

"So...where do we need to go first huh?" he asked in a wobbly, overly enthusiastic voice.

Scotty looked down at the paper.

"Gotta go Ancient Greece, then Egypt, finish off in Rome..." he informed him.

Reuben nodded and forced a smile.

"This is probably gonna be real easy for you, huh Kai? Since you take Ancient...History..." he drifted off as he looked around for him.

The others followed suit and caught a glimpse of blue hair already walking in the distance towards the Greek exhibition.

Rei frowned. That was annoying enough when they were on good terms...

"Don't worry...he does that." he told them dully before the three of them went in the same direction.

They forgot their annoyance when they stepped in to the dark room. Glass cases lit up with spotlights displaying white busts, statues, black and gold vases and all kinds of other artefacts.

Rei fought a small smile. Despite feeling hurt about everything, he knew Kai was probably really enjoying this.

If only it wasn't so tense between them all...

He waited patiently while the other two read the questions they were supposed to be answering, glad he didn't have to partake in that part. He hobbled around at his own accord, looking around at whatever caught his eye while they balanced their clipboards and scribbled down notes half heartedly.

Following them around the corner, they spotted Kai stood at a glass case writing his own notes down.

"Not wasting any time, huh?" Reuben chuckled as he stopped next to him. "What did you put for question four? We couldn't find it!" he asked in an attempt to break the ice.

Kai didn't so much as look up.

"Over there." he muttered at him before turning his back on him and walking off.

Reuben sighed.

So much for that.

A mere twenty minutes later, Kai had finished the questions and was ready to head to the next.

Scotty caught him out the corner of his eye.

"Hey!" he barked at him, "We're supposed to go as a group. Wait."

Kai rolled his eyes, folding his arms and waiting impatiently.

Scotty frowned, sucking down his annoyance.

"You know...we'd be done faster if you helped us out..." he said in a softer voice.

Kai huffed, stepping up to him and shoving his paper at him.

Scotty took it and glanced over it...he'd already started filling in the answers for the Egyptians and Romans...

Frickin' know-it-all...

"Well...aren't you the little history buff." he said sarcastically before copying what he hadn't found.

As annoying as it was, it did mean they got done quicker.

After he and Reuben were done, they handed it back to him, giving him the go ahead to move on to the next exhibition.

Once again, he sped off ahead, leaving the other two behind as they politely walked with Rei as he hobbled along as best he could.

This time when they entered the darkened room, they were met with lit up hieroglyphics, sarcophagi and colorful artwork.

Rei knew he'd be loving this one...

"Whoaaaaa! Look at this!" Scotty expelled as his eyes were drawn to an open sarcophagus containing a mummy laying in a glass case.

Reuben's nose scrunched up.

"...That's not real, is it?"

Scotty let out a smirk.

"Why? Scaring you?"

Reuben scoffed, despite feeling a little uneasy.

"No! It's just...kind of gross if it is."

They turned their heads as they heard a condescending tut.

Kai pointed lazily at the sign just above it that explained it was only a replica before wandering off again.

Rei frowned. Why did he always have to be such a smart ass?!

Scotty had had enough as well. This was supposed to be fun. They had a whole weekend stuck together. The least they could all do was be civil.

"Hey, Kai! Do you know how they mummified people?" he asked in yet another attempt to get a conversation.

Not to mention he was genuinely interested in that...he enjoyed a little gore.

Kai's violet eyes looked up. Rei knew exactly what was going on in his mind.

He was debating which was more important. Holding on to his silent treatment, or taking his chance to show off.

For once he hoped he'd show off...he missed the sound of his voice.

He waited while Kai deliberated with himself, seeing an arrogant twinkle in his eye.

"I do." he said smugly...before walking off.

Scotty felt his blood start to heat up.

What he'd give to throw him in to a pile of flesh eating scarab beetles like that movie right now...

Rei should have been mad at him for that.

Part of him was. That was rude and arrogant.

But part of him fluttered. That was Kai...

He stuck with Scotty and Reuben as they frantically tried to finish their questions, while glancing round trying to see where he was.

He watched him looking intently in to the glass displays and tried not to smile. He really did look like he was enjoying this.

...And he said he wasn't a nerd.

His smile fell.

He wanted to go over there and talk to him.

He'd let him talk his ear off about...whatever it was he was looking at.

He was brought out his daydreaming when Scotty slapped his arm gently.

"Done! One more to go!" he told him tiredly before throwing another glare in Kai's direction.

"Oi, Ready?" he bit at him.

Kai tore his eyes away from the wall art he was admiring. He would have liked to stay here a little longer...but he wasn't going to tell them that.

He gave a slight nod and dragged his feet behind them to the last room of the day.

By this point, they weren't so impressed as they stepped in to another dimly lit exhibition room of yet more busts, statues and stone slabs.

At least there was some cool armour and weapons in this one...

Rei hobbled around and took in the gladiator helmets, a slight snort escaping his nose as he recalled how stupid Enrique looked when he came out to battle Tyson in their early days.

For once, the four of them were stood together, quietly looking at same thing.

Scotty nudged Reuben as they looked at the mannequin decked out in armour and a shield.

"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius... Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next." he quoted in a deep, dramatic voice.

Rei let out another chuckle along with Reuben. He loved that movie.

Kai, on the other hand, cocked a brow. What the hell was that?

Whatever it was, he decided it was stupid and moved himself along.

Rei turned his head to explain it to Kai, knowing full well he would never have seen _Gladiator_.

He'd probably really like it...maybe he could recommend it to him.

Oh wait...he was gone. What a surprise.

Letting out yet another sigh, he followed Scotty and Reuben around, getting tired of this now.

They'd been there hours.

Hours within a close proximity of each other hardly a word uttered between him and any of them.

This had to stop.

He sadly broke away from the two, letting them work as he hobbled around looking at the displays.

This really did take him back to their brief trip to Italy together.

Back when he still wore that tight black tank top...

He glanced over at him and compared the image he had of him back then to now.

The Puberty Fairy had been _so_ good to him...

Like a pining moth drawn to an attractive flame, he found himself hobbling over to him.

He took in a deep breath, psyching himself up as those violet eyes lifted to him.

"...remember when we saw the Colosseum?"

Good one, Rei.

Kai stared at him for a second before looking back down at his paper.

Rei's brow furrowed.

Really? He was just going to blank him?

Last chance.

"...and remember how dumb Enrique looked in that gladiator get up?" he breathed out with a forced chuckle.

He saw his shoulders tense as he continued to jot down notes on his paper.

Rei's eyes welled up, the appropriate time for a response coming and going.

He waited a little longer until it got too uncomfortable. And hurtful.

"Fine..." his voice cracked out a little as he turned to hobble away.

The waiver in his voice made Kai look up to see him leaving, his crutches hitting the floor faster as he head towards the door of the exhibition.

Scotty and Reuben looked up, their eyes following him as they watched him with his head down booking it out of there.

They both turned to the expected cause, catching a rare expression of guilt.

Scotty narrowed his eyes at him.

He hadn't seen what just happened, but guaranteed he'd been a dick.

"...I'll go see if he's all right." he whispered to Reuben before storming off.

Reuben looked between his friend and Kai.

He didn't want to be left alone with him...it was too awkward, so took off after them as well.

Scotty caught up with him.

"Rei! Wait up, you all right?"

Rei stopped, blinking a few times and painting on a fanged smile.

"Yeh? Can't a guy pee?" he played off.

Scotty frowned.

"...You sure?" he asked, not quite believing him.

Rei made himself roll his eyes.

"Yeh! Do you mind? Already takes me long enough with these things." he said as he tapped his crutches on the floor.

Scotty's frown deepened. But he was hardly going to press him here.

"Sure...sorry."

He slapped Reuben's back and made them go back, now picturing giving Kai the Caesar's thumbs down to have him thrown to the lions...

By the time Rei had splashed some water on his face and pulled himself together, the three of them were waiting at the entrance of the exhibition. Kai, naturally, away from them.

Scotty smiled at him.

"We've still got a little time before we have to go back. Wanna hit the gift shop?"

Rei held in a groan. Those places were always so overpriced...not that it mattered to these guys...

"Sure."

Scotty led the way, Kai even following to his surprise.

For once he wished he wouldn't...

They walked in to the crowded shop. Cheesy souvenirs, postcards, books and other junk staring them in the face.

They broke off to look around, other familiar faces from the class also coming in to view.

Rei wandered around aimlessly, picking up a few things mindlessly and looking at the prices.

Yep. Nothing he could afford. Not that he really wanted a replica statue or a teddy bear with the museum logo on it anyway.

The others did by the look of it, though.

He wandered a little more before before his eye was drawn to something.

He leaned over at a display of beaded bracelets and let out a small smile.

He used to wear those back in the village. There were a bunch of cool stones in those mountains.

His eyes were drawn to one in particular, feeling his heart flutter.

Vibrant amethyst beads covered two thirds while the rest was a shimmering tiger's eye.

...If that wasn't the most perfect piece of jewellery he'd ever seen, he didn't know what was.

It was so perfect, he felt like it was mocking him.

It was exactly the same color as his eyes...and almost the same as his own.

His hand reached out and picked it up before he could stop himself, scanning it for the price tag.

 _How much?!_

His heart sank as the shock settled down.

Just like him and Kai, he and this bracelet weren't meant to be...

He set it down sadly after holding and admiring it a little longer, taking himself off to find Scotty and Reub.

They hustled to get to the checkout and buy what they'd picked out before the clock struck four.

Dan, meanwhile, necked the final gulp of his coffee as he looked at his watch.

The conversation had been sparkling and time had flown.

Mr. Simmons, on the other hand, was a little glad that their time together had come to an end.

...Dan sure liked to talk.

On cue, members of his home room started to file in. Papers filled in and souvenirs bought.

By the time the clock hit 4:10, he did his last head count.

"11? Who-"

He didn't need to finish that sentence and he knew it.

"Where's Kai?" he droned.

Scotty turned around. He'd been right there...

Great, that asshole was going to get them in trouble.

"Here." a bored, husky voice called out.

Dan turned to him and tapped his watch.

"What time do you call this?"

Kai shrugged.

"There was a line for the bathroom."

Dan rolled his eyes.

Fair enough...

"Good. Now you're all here and that lame stuff is out the way, WHO'S UP FOR SOME SMORES!?"

The students looked at each other. Did they really need to cheer again?

The look on their teacher's face told them they did.

Once again, they obliged.

Making their way back on to the bus, they set off.

Kai and Rei both sat quietly in their respective seats, away from each other, wanting nothing more than to go home.

Gradually, the city faded to woodland as the sun was starting to sink down in the sky.

Kai pressed his folded arms in to himself, fighting the urge to look back at him.

He hadn't meant to upset Rei like that.

He didn't know why he had to be such a dick himself.

He should have just answered him, broken the ice. Do like the doctor had told him.

Old habits died hard...

He frowned to himself, they'd been the ones to shun him in the corridor...it wasn't all his fault this time!

He sat and mulled it over until the excitement in the bus rose, driving through the large gates of the camp, passing cool looking log cabins and barbecue areas.

They waited impatiently as Mr. Simmons went to check them in and get their cabin keys, everyone piling out the moment he came back in to view.

He held his hands up.

"All right, you have a cabin per group! Remember, you're all to leave it in the same condition you find it in! Any damage comes out your parent's pockets, got it?"

They all nodded.

"You boys have the evening to relax! But keep in mind we're all up bright and early tomorrow!"

They split off to their cabins, dropping off their bags and calling dibs on the beds they wanted before running off to explore the area.

Kai held back, letting the others drop off their stuff first.

Of course they had to sleep in the same room too...

A little while later, the sky was evolving from twilight to darkness, the last glimpses of oranges and pinks fading down along with the temperature as class 1-4 gravitated to the fire pits the staff had set up for them.

Under Dan's strict instruction, Kai remained in the vicinity, but as he had done since they left that morning, kept himself at a decent distance. This tree was a lot more desirable than the stupid cackling coming from the crackling flames.

He rested his arm on his pulled up knees, busying his eyes with his phone while occasionally glancing at his little group...

As they had done since they left this morning, they were still thick as thieves and actually enjoying this crap fest...

His eyes narrowed unwillingly as he watched Scotty and Reuben sandwiching Rei, showing him videos on their phones which were apparently hilarious...

They got close pretty damn quick...

To make his mood worse, his eyes drifted to see a dopey grin coming back from the teacher's cabin towards the fires.

Oh god...he brought a guitar.

Of course he had...

Nope. He was out of here.

The moment his foot shifted against the grass, he saw Rei standing up from the log he was sitting on.

He smirked. Had he spotted it and decided to bail too?

The smirk fell almost as quickly as it came. Probably just the bathroom.

But now that Rei was free of his two shadows, maybe he could finally catch him alone and try and sand off some of the damage. Rei wouldn't so much as look at him now.

And it was killing him...

This whole damn thing was really starting to get to him.

In the one week he and Rei hadn't talked, he felt like a huge piece of him was missing. There wasn't much he could say was great in his life, but Rei was one of them.

And right now, they weren't talking...

He waited until Rei's back was turned and had taken several steps before he stealthily made his way behind some trees, get away undetected by the human jukebox while still being able to keep his eye on him through the gaps in the trees. He'd been right, just the bathroom rather than running from a sing-a-long.

He kept himself hidden behind a tree while he waited for Rei to come out...very aware it was kind of an odd thing to do, but didn't want to risk anyone else seeing him if they came along. His heart pounded in his chest as he waited, what was he even going to say to him? Or what if he just made things worse?

His heart stopped as he saw the content looking figure emerge from the bathrooms and start to walk by him. He opened his mouth and froze. Rei taking steps further away from him. He slapped himself and forced himself to get it together before he missed the chance.

" _Rei_!" he shouted in a whisper.

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, spinning on his heel with a hand over his racing heart.

"Jesus, Kai!" He whispered back just as harshly, eyes slit from the sudden surprise until he blinked a few times and they dilated.

Kai came out from behind the tree. "Sorry..." he mumbled before going quiet and standing awkwardly beside his hiding place.

"It's fine." Rei bit at him. He was going to leave, after being avoided like a disease for the past week and stonewalled at the museum today. He really didn't have anything to say, but he felt glued to where he stood.

Kai winced at the tone of his voice, forcing himself to step towards him.

"You uh...your ankle holding up all right?" he asked quietly.

"Yes." Rei said, short and sweet until he realised he was being more Kai like than...well, Kai.

Even if he was hurt from being avoided the past week, Kai was still his captain and his friend.

"Thank you... For asking." He added quickly and nervously, shifting his feet into the dirt a little.

Kai nodded, stopping at a safe distance from him and stuck with what to say next. They stared at each other for a few moments before Kai's ears pricked up, hearing voices

heading in their direction.

No, no, no...if he backed out now, he'd never do it.

Panicked, he quickly grabbed Rei's waist and hoisted him over his shoulder, taking off it in to the trees.

"K-Kai! The hell are you doing?!" Rei stuttered out, trying to keep his hold on his crutches while also trying to get out of his hold. Thankful it was getting darker out to hide

the immense blush on his face. This was not what he imagined when he thought of Kai sweeping him off his feet.

Kai, meanwhile, kept going. He made it deep in to the woods before it dawned on him that what he'd just done was utterly ridiculous...

The dark hiding his own furious blush, he gently set him down, keeping hold of him until he knew he was steady before taking a few steps back.

"Sorry...people were coming and you can't walk..." he explained dumbly as his chest went back to pounding.

"And dashing out into the woods was your plan?" Rei asked him as he tried to calm his heart, not wanting to snap at him but seriously, what the hell was this now?!

Kai fiddled with his sleeves.

That...that was basically the plan, yeh.

"W... What is it you want Kai?" Rei finally asked him, shifting himself on his crutches. At least Kai had been careful enough not to hurt him.

He fiddled harder with his sleeves. For someone with his IQ, he was banking on his brain to come up with something to say by this point. Turns out he wasn't that smart after

all...

"...To talk." he mumbled quietly.

Rei shifted, all of a sudden he felt on edge.

He had been trying to get him to talk with him... All day... This was how he wanted to do it?!

"Okay." He started, voice stronger than what he thought he could make it as he straightened his back. "So talk."

Kai winced yet again. He figured to some extent he deserved a less than warm reception from him, but didn't make it any easier.

"I just..." he stuttered before straightening himself up as well, "things are too weird and I've had enough!" he blurted out.

" _You've_ had enough?" Rei scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I'm sorry, remind me again whose been avoiding who?"

Kai frowned at him.

"Let's see...I think it was the guy who packed his bags and bolted!" he shot back sarcastically.

"So it's my fault?" Rei bit at him. Maybe it was, but how should he have reacted after Kai left him at the arcade. Left him with Dan and Charlotte alone. "You left me first!"

Kai clenched his fists defensively.

"I didn't it was your _fault_! But what was I supposed to do, Rei?! "

"Not leave me behind like you did, could have helped me outside at least and then dropped me. Talked to me about it. Anything would have been better than running off like

 _you_ did!" Rei yelled at him, fighting back from shedding tears.

Kai felt himself shrink. He hadn't thought about it like that.

"I didn't _drop_ you...or at least I didn't mean to. I just kind of...panicked."

"And you don't think I did?" Rei asked in a tired voice, he didn't want to keep yelling at him. It wouldn't do them any good.

Kai shrugged. Honestly, he had no idea how Rei felt about it.

At seeing that quiet reaction, Rei pressed his lips together.

Great, he clammed up on him again.

"What do you want then Kai?" Rei asked in that same tired voice.

Kai's face fell in response.

This was hardly how he had thought this was going to go.

"I dunno...figure this out?"

Rei nodded, not entirely sure why he was nodding. He wanted things to go back to how they were, while another part wanted more.

"H... How do you want to do that?" Rei forced out, unable to stop the shifting of his weight on his crutches.

Kai folded his arms at that question. Unsure how to answer it really.

As always, in a tense, uncomfortable and anxious situation, his best card was to pick a fight.

"Well for starts you can get your new besties off my case." He bit defensively.

Rei cocked a brow at him, where had that come from?

"I haven't said anything to them."

Kai narrowed his eyes at him.

"Then why am I getting attitude from them as well?"

"Should ask yourself that question, not me." Rei shook his head at him, "Unless you're just that blind to how you treat everyone around you."

Kai tensed, feeling himself getting riled.

"They're the ones that blanked me first! But whatever, I could care less what those losers think of me!"

"I highly doubt that, but whatever you want to think to help you sleep at night Kai." Rei said sarcastically at him.

He let out a growl.

"Whatever! There's a bigger issue at hand here, Rei!"

"And what do you want me to do about it?! I can't take it back, and I have tried. Don't you stand there and pretend that I haven't!" Rei bit at him. It wasn't tears he had to

hold back any more, he was trying to hold back baring his fangs, and keeping his pupils from slitting now.

Kai rolled his eyes.

"Bullshit! Where the hell have you been all week then, huh? Apart from Scotty's room!?"

Rei gave him a look of disbelief.

"I've been doing my _job_ , in case you really forgot about that. Oh wait, yes you have. Seeing as how you haven't shown up at all." He sneered at him, feeling slightly powerful

in his words.

It was always him looking up to Kai, being the student. And now the tables were slightly turned. Kai was still his captain, but he was also _his_ student.

"Where exactly the hell have _you_ been?"

Kai scoffed at him.

"Your _job_?"

Who the hell did Rei think he was talking down to him like that like a naughty child? Since when was he Mr. Serious Teacher and he the bad little student?!

Rei's frown deepened. What kind of tone was that? Did Kai really not take him seriously?

"It's the only reason I'm here, god... Just forget it Kai, okay? Blame me for avoiding you, making this... Whatever this is, worse. Whatever it is that'll make _you_ feel better."

Rei scorned, his pupils slit and the urge to drop the crutches and run away from this almost overwhelming.

Kai grit his teeth.

"Oh yeh, Rei! This makes me feel fantastic! One stupid trip and you run for the hills and trade me in without a second thought!"

He started to pace, feeling his temper rising.

This wasn't what he'd wanted at all.

"I left you in the elevator to get a little space! I came back and you'd literally packed your bags and left! You're _always_ the one that wants to talk stuff out! So why was this

different?!"

Rei faltered, swallowing the argument that he had on the tip of his tongue before Kai's words set in.

It was only different because he wanted something different with him, but like hell he was going to say that.

"I... I don't know... I thought that... I don't know... You left, ran off before I could even really say anything to you." Rei explained, his voice cracking slightly.

He fell silent, trying to think of something else to say to him. He didn't want to keep arguing and pointing fingers on who was to blame. But he had tried, and that was more

than what Kai had done.

A cold wind swept by them, wasn't the first to have hit him but this one felt colder than the others and he shivered.

The anger in Kai's face fell as he heard the crack in his voice for the second time that day.

Yet again, he'd hurt him without meaning to. Letting his mouth go before his brain engaged.

Despite it being dark, he saw his outline shivering, automatically undoing the buttons on his school jacket as he took a second to take a breath.

He was lashing out again...

"...I didn't mean to make it look like I tossed you aside..." he said in a softer voice as he slipped his jacket off his shoulders, "I just...well, you know me...I'm not good at

anything like this." He carried on as he held it out to him.

Rei nodded, wide and teary eyed as he took in the jacket Kai was holding out to him.

"I'm fine... It's fine..." He said as he shook his head a little.

Kai tilted his head, ignoring his protest and draping it over his shoulders for him.

"Is it...?"

"You'd think I'd be used to it by now..." Rei chuckled softly, still shaking his head while he pulled the jacket around him.

Kai blinked dumbly.

"...How many friends have you fallen on?"

Rei's face warmed instantly, until he realized how dense Kai was.

"That's not what I meant."

Kai's face burned back.

"Oh...right...

The silence came back. It only got more and more awkward as the seconds passed.

He eventually forced himself to clear his throat.

"So...about that..."

Rei shivered again, Kai was standing closer. It was dark out and they were alone. His heart hammered in his chest as his face burned.

"Yeah?" he squeaked out.

Kai shifted, heart pounding as hard as Rei's was.

"You think maybe we could just...forget it ever happened?"

As the words filtered through his hears, his heart dropped.

That... wasn't what he had expected.

That stupid glimmer of hope got jerked out from under him.

How could he have expected anything different? There wasn't anything Kai had ever done that suggested he felt anything.

"Sure... Yeah... Of course." He said, trying to sound strong through the heart break.

Kai didn't realize he'd been holding his breath, making himself breathe as he nodded.

"Was just an accident after all...right?" he pressed.

Rei mirrored his nodding.

It had been an accident...but one he wanted to do again and again.

"Yeh...A really stupid one..." he breathed out, looking away from him.

Kai's own chest burst. And not in a good way.

If Rei was going to say it meant something, that was his window.

And the window just shut.

Of course it hadn't meant anything...

Instead, he'd said it was _stupid._ Just like he was.

A little part of him had been trying to convince him that Rei felt the same way.

He knew he should have ignored it. Why would Rei want to be with a headcase like him?

The silence was starting to get under his skin. He could feel his eyes starting to sting.

"So...Are we good?" he forced himself to ask, killing the silence.

"Yeah." Rei replied quickly and quietly.

If he couldn't have more, he'd settle for their friendship...that was something at least.

"You know I can't stay mad at you forever." He said without really thinking.

Kai nodded. He should have felt relieved, but he wasn't.

Rei thought what happened was _stupid_?

"...Sorry I didn't come to your class. I'll catch up the work." He told him as formally as he could.

Rei just blinked at him a little, "Don't worry about it... I'm sorry for what's happened between us."

Kai swallowed it down.

"It's fine. Was just _stupid._ Like you said..."

Rei's eyes widened, "T-that... I mean, it was stupid h-how it happened. You know..."

Kai's body went stiff as he painted his best 'whatever' face on.

"Hn. Well. Now that's over, better not keep your new _friends_ waiting..."

"They'd be your friends too, if you just tried." Rei sighed, despite the distraction being more than welcoming.

He shrugged at him and pulled a face.

"And what the fuck would I wanna do that for?"

Rei shrugged at him, not in the mood to argue with him any more.

"Forget I said anything."

He got a scowl in return.

"Fine...ready to go?"

"Lead the way, captain" Rei huffed and rolled his eyes, biting back the growl in his throat.

He turned and did as he was told, wanting nothing more than to hijack that bus the second they got back and drive back home.

"...Try not to do anything 'stupid' with them, too..." he muttered to himself once he'd put a bit of distance between them.

Rei started hobbling after him, his ears perking at Kai's words. He must have forgotten who he was grumbling around.

"Learned my lesson." He made sure to say loud enough for Kai to hear him, "Once was enough, thanks."

Kai's eyes watered as he ran his tongue over his teeth.

Rei continued to hobble after him, slowing down so he didn't catch a crutch on a branch and fall flat on his face.

He could feel the ugly tension around them again.

So much for making this better...

TBC.

* * *

End of Chapter! To be continued!

This was all supposed to be one chapter, but it turned out if I'd have done that...well, it would have been ridiculously long.

I hope you'll come back for the next part, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Thank you for reading!

As always, any comments or reviews would be greatly appreciated!

I'll do my best to get part two up as soon as I can!

Until next time, bye!


	20. Just Kiss Already!

Hello one and all!

I'm sorry its been a little while since the last update! Been crazy busy! But you know what? It is my damn birthday, so I wanted give y'all nice long chapter! Why not celebrate getting old with a tale of young, awkward love?

Few little things before we get started.

1\. Oh my god, guys! **This story reached 100 reviews!** I'm honestly over the moon! Can't believe it! Really didn't expect this story to do so well! To anyone who has ever left a comment. THANK YOU! It means the world!

2\. I'm legit nervous about this chapter. Just wanted to say that before going in, a lot of thought went in to it, really hope it pays off!

3\. I feel like I should give a heads up, this story is coming to it's last parts! BUT! For those of you still enjoying the story, a plan for a sequel has been in the works for some time, since there's still so much I want to do with this. I'm just coming closer to the point I had always planned to end it!

4\. As with many chapters in many of my stories, thank you Luxah for taking the time to help me out with ideas, dialogue and proofreading.

5\. Julia Fernandez too! Thanks, love!

Think that's it. Please enjoy! :)

* * *

Chapter 20 – Just Kiss Already!

Scotty lifted a brow when he turned to see Rei coming back with their sour-faced classmate. He watched Kai continue on to the tree he'd been sat at before, away from everyone.

He wondered if there wasn't a swamp or something around here he'd be more at home in...

As the two split off from each other, Rei came back, his head down as he hobbled back to the log and settled himself down.

"What did _he_ want?" he whispered to him.

Rei never had told them why the two of them suddenly weren't on speaking terms. He'd openly told Rei why _he_ thought he was an asshole, but no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't budge. Which made him think Mr. Silence had done something pretty bad.

Rei shook his head at him, golden eyes with held back tears glancing towards his _friend_ before back to the fire. His throat clenched up on him, feeling smaller and smaller the longer he sat there.

Scotty's lifted brow turned to a frown, seeing his eyes were watery and following his gaze to said asshole, narrowing his eyes.

"What he do this time?" He whispered even quieter, making sure no one else was able to hear him.

Rei would have told him, but the simple question made it feel like he wasn't going to be able to hold back the tears.

"G.. Get me outta here..." He choked, shaking his head again.

He should never have come here. The trip or the school.

Scotty's eyes widened. What the hell had he done to Rei?!

"Ok...come on...Let's go to our cabin. He won't be there for a long time yet and I'll tell Reub to stay here for a while."

Scotty helped him up, firing Kai another glare just in time for him to look over at them and see it. He'd send Reub a text. The last thing he wanted was to draw attention to them. Letting Rei hobble off first, he followed behind him back towards their small wooden cabin.

After the short walk/hobble to the cabin, Scotty held the door open, letting his sniffling friend go by him and sink down on to the bed.

He kept his eyes down, trying to hold everything back, but a few rogue tears rolled down his face. Scotty closed the door and wandered over to him, sitting beside him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened?" He asked in a softer tone.

Rei wiped the tears that fell down, trying to calm himself as he shook his head a little.

"Nothing, he's just an idiot." He heaved, fighting back the tears again.

Scotty's concerned expression fell to a frown.

That was nothing new...but Rei crying was.

"So why are you crying?"

"Because he's an idiot." Rei chuckled on a sob, repeating himself.

He fiddled with the sleeves of Kai's jacket that was still draped over his shoulders, his scent coming off stronger.

He turned and faced Scotty, he could trust him.

He hoped, anyway.

"We kissed, a week ago..." he blurted out, unable to keep it in any more, "It was an accident, that's why we've been avoiding each other. He took me out into the woods to talk about it, but it did more damage than good."

Scotty's eyes widened.

He had not expected that one...

He had a feeling Rei liked him, didn't know Kai well enough to know if he did back.

"How do you kiss someone by accident?" He asked bluntly, trying to get his head around what Rei just told him.

"These stupid things." Rei said as he finally put his crutches down, letting them just fall on the ground.

"We stumbled into each other, not even sure who kissed who when it happened, but it turned into this whole mess." He explained, pulling his bangs from his face with a deep sigh.

This was hard and more tears were threatening to spill.

"I moved out of his room because he ran off on me after it happened, that's why he's not been coming to my class or talking to any of us all day." He bit out angrily.

Kai wanted to blame him for it all, he wanted to blame Kai for it all when it was both their faults.

"There's not much I can do about it now, he clearly doesn't want it to turn into something else. So." He shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care.

But his heart broke.

Scotty blinked, taking in the story.

He sniffed.

"Well...you're probably better off. Don't know what you could see in a jerk like that anyway. All he's got going for him is he's ripped..." he tried to comfort.

Rei's stomach burned with the mix of the hurt he felt and the anger at Scotty's comment.

"He's not that bad, really..." He tried to reason, holding in the growl at the back of his throat.

Maybe talking to Scotty was a bad idea, he knew Kai and him didn't get along that well.

Especially after everything that happened now.

Scotty rolled his eyes, "Well sure knows how to treat people like crap on his shoe..." he muttered before reeling it in.

Now wasn't the time.

"Doesn't explain why he's all mad at us 'cause you two smooched..."

Rei shrugged his shoulders.

Hell, he didn't know either.

He got the impression he was somewhat jealous of them. Wasn't like Kai to get jealous before, so why would he be now?

"I wouldn't take it too personal, he's just an idiot." Rei repeated yet again, it being the only thing he could really think of to say about the whole thing.

Sure, it wasn't fair for him to treat the others badly just because of what happened between them.

But then again, it was Kai.

"I even told him that myself. He thinks you guys hate him because he thought I told you guys what happened."

Scotty listened and let out a sigh.

That wasn't why he was annoyed with him at all, but as Rei said, he was an idiot...

"Pff...after all the attempts we made to be friendly..." he mumbled before remembering again, now wasn't the time...

He glanced at Rei, looking hurt despite the front of being fine with it all.

"I don't know what he's like with you...but I can guess since someone like you is close with him there's a side we don't see..." he started, gripping his shoulder harder, "I'm not saying it to make you feel better, but kisses don't just happen out of nowhere."

Rei's face burned, "It was an accident, I swear!" He shouted out defensively, fumbling over his words a little.

Scotty couldn't help but smirk.

"I'm sure it wasn't planned...but you wanted it to happen, right?"

Rei shifted a little under Scotty's hand on his shoulder, his face turning redder.

"I mean... Under different circumstances..." He mumbled back.

Smugness finally hit him, now that the suddenness of the conversation had sunk in.

He _knew_ he was in to him.

"So...was it over in a flash or did it linger a little?" He asked, trying not to sound too excited.

Rei thought for a minute, "It really did happen too fast... I really don't remember." He mumbled again, feeling his face burn hotter.

The feeling of Kai's lips on his again hitting him hard.

If only he could do it again...

Scotty pouted.

How could he make a judgement about whether or not Kai felt the same if he had no information?

His gaydar was flawless, but Kai was so blank he couldn't tell.

If anything, he'd concluded he wasn't in to anyone.

Or was more in to weird shit like...sock puppets or something.

"All right..." he said as he scrambled, "so what he say tonight? Just a flat out no or? And why'd you come back angry?"

Rei let out a deep huff.

"Well, first off we argued over who abandoned who and when." Rei began in a biting tone.

"Then we argued over why you guys are avoiding him, when he's done the same to you guys... Let's see... What else?" He asked himself, looking to be deep in thought for a minute.

His memory was a little foggy, the anger outweighing the ability to think properly.

"After we got through the initial fighting he said he wanted to be _friends_ again, forget that it happened. If he wanted more he would have said so, so I agreed. On the way back he implicated that I'd fall into one of you guys next. Because he's an idiot." He bit out with that same angry tone, letting the growl he had been holding back initially to break through his chest.

Scotty lifted a brow.

Was that hints of jealousy he smelled from Kai?

"So...you're cool but...not?" He asked, still a little confused.

"No, why the hell would we be? He was being a dick about it!" Rei argued with him.

"It was an accident and _this_ is how he wanted to handle it? He ran off on me and then skips class, avoids us all day like we weren't even there. And I tried to get him to talk and all of a sudden he whisks me away into the damn woods to talk and then shove it all in my face?"

Scotty stifled a laugh.

The image of Kai 'whisking' him in to the woods was somethin'.

"I mean...doesn't seem like a talkative dude? At least he actually made the effort to talk to you?"

Rei deflated a little. That was a very good point.

"Yeah... I suppose so." He shrugged,"Would have been better if he just didn't say anything at all if it was gonna end like it did." He bit out in a snarl, his nose curling.

He turned his head to give Scotty an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to keep flipping switches on you like this."

Scotty shook his head, rubbing his shoulder.

"It's ok...glad you finally told me."

The cogs in his brain were turning, trying to make sense of it all and put pieces together.

"Did you...did you tell him you felt that way about him?"

Rei shook his head, "Why would I do that?"

Scotty gave him a look.

"...How the hell do you think people get together!?"

"I know how that happens, but seriously. After everything he said to me, there was no way I could just cut in and go 'hey Kai, my best buddy, best pal. Captain of my team, guy I've crushed on for years. Guess what? I love you. Surprise!'... Don't think that would have gone well, especially after he told me to forget about the kiss." Rei said back sarcastically.

Scotty's brow lifted again. "Years, huh?"

His other brow lifted to meet the other in surprise as the rest sunk in.

"Wait, did you say love?!"

Rei choked on his own spit, his face turning brighter before he just simply nodded, shrinking in on himself.

"Yeah..." He admitted, fiddling with the sleeves of Kai's jacket again.

Scotty finally noticed the jacket and felt a dumb grin spread across his face that could rival Tyson Granger's.

"...That his jackkkeet?" He asked in a silly voice.

"I got cold..." Rei said in a squeaky voice.

His grin widened.

Kai Hiwatari.

Asshole. Idiot. Mystery. Secret romantic..

"That was awfully nice of him." he said in a suggestive tone.

Rei cocked his head.

"Told you he wasn't such a bad guy..." he laughed awkwardly.

Scotty scoffed.

"Dude, _I'm_ a nice guy...I wouldn't have given you my jacket. Was chilly as all hell!"

He laughed before he wiggled his eyebrows. "If you were a pretty girl I probably would have though..."

Rei's blush intensified, "He's Russian, the cold probably doesn't bother him like the rest of us weakly mortals." He scoffed sarcastically, "I know what you're doing, this doesn't mean anything."

Scotty patted his back. "Don't worry. I'm gonna help you. We'll figure this out."

Rei automatically shook his head almost violently, his throat clenching up on him. "There's nothing to help here, he doesn't feel the same. If he did he would have said something, not act like the world was ending just because we kissed." He said quickly.

Scotty smirked harder. "If it wasn't a big deal, he wouldn't be treating it like one...and you leave that for me to decide."

Rei just stared at him, "He's already pissed at you guys, for who knows what, you don't have to put yourself in his line of fire any more than what you deal with at school." He tried to reason.

Scotty snorted.

"Oh no...I couldn't bare to lose the sparkling conversation we both share..." he replied sarcastically.

Rei snorted too, "Then knock yourself out there."

Scotty took it as a green light, already concocting plans.

"Just out of curiosity...what is it you love so much?" He asked as he got in his face a little.

Rei gave him a look that harboured on bored and still embarrassed.

"Are you really asking me that? What's there not to like? Are you _blind_? I mean, not expecting you to swoon over another guy or anything. But you can't deny he's hot. For one."

Scotty went quiet and thought about it, his eyes drifted off to somewhere not in the room.

"Those arms would make you feel so safe..." his voice spewed out from nowhere.

"Exactly." Rei agreed. "He could kill me with those things and I'd thank him...And he really is a nice guy, a bit rough around the edges but that's just because of... Things... He's there if you need him though, and that's what matters. He's really smart. He's talented...Always surprises me. I had no idea how musical he was until I came here. He plays the piano and violin so beautifully..." he drifted off yet again with the same dreamy expression, "And he can sing. Had no idea he had such a beautiful voice..."

Scotty nodded. He really did. That had surprised him too when he first joined the choir.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Rei wasn't done yet.

"He's a great captain, an even better friend. There's just so much to really like about him, you just have to put in the effort to get to know him."

Scotty listened,intrigued and also feeling more and more pissed.

He and Reuben _had_ put in effort to get to know him.

Just when things started to make steps, he'd go back the other way.

Then again, Kai probably didn't want to make out with either of them...which made sense.

He laughed at Rei's comment about him thanking him for killing him with those arms.

"Guess he's got the whole bad boy look goin' for him...if you're in to that..." he smirked at him, enjoying Rei's fawning.

"You have no idea." Rei swooned, "Our first year he wore these red arm guards that had like three inch blades on them. You saw him at our last tournament with his war paint, then there's that scarf..." he drifted off for a moment, "Even in that uniform he looks badass..." He rambled off before he bit his lip a little and curled himself in to Kai's jacket a little, filter gone and down for the count.

Scotty thought back and nodded.

He did look badass at that tournament...especially when...

He grinned another Tyson grin.

"Yeh...sure looked cool in that paint. And when he threw off that scarf when he went to take that guy down for you in a blaze of glory..."

Rei felt a little hot under the collar, remembering it quite fondly.

He loved Kai's neck, and he always had it hidden under that damn scarf.

Another reason to love that school uniform.

"Mhmm" He agreed, looking like he was in a far off land.

Scotty let out a shudder.

Hell, he was starting to get a man-crush on him himself.

"Such chivalry...for a _friend_..."

Rei came back, like he was thrown back into reality by getting hit by a bus.

"He was just upset I lost." He tried to reason.

"You didn't. That was a tie if I remember..." he replied smugly.

Kai liked Reeeeiiiiiii!

Reeeiii liked Kaaaaiiii!

Rei shook his head, he really couldn't remember his battle as well as when Kai had stepped up to take over.

"Fine, go outside right now and ask him how he feels about me if that's what you're trying to get at." He said and motioned towards the door.

Scotty looked at Rei to the door, the door to Rei and shrugged.

"All right!" He said brightly as he stood up.

Rei shifted, pulling his arms around himself in a very Kai like fashion.

He really wouldn't...

Would he?!

"Fine..." He said calmly, trying to seem unbothered.

Scotty went to the door.

Hell, it's not like Kai could talk to him any less. The worst that would happen would be he told him to fuck off.

...Or put those guns to use and hit him...he'd roughed up Giles before...

Nahhh...he wouldn't...

* * *

Kai watched Scotty and Rei walk off together and felt a pang of jealousy.

Since when were they so joint at the hip, anyway!?

It was _him_ he was supposed to be joint at the hip to! They'd been friends for years!

Just over a month of knowing this guy and suddenly he'd been replaced?!

And what was with that dirty look Scotty threw him yet again?!

He took a breath and let out a sigh. His logical side kicking in.

Rei hadn't replaced him...he'd pushed him away. Rei deserved good friends. And good...other things.

His chest tightened on him. This was all such a mess...

He really had gone after him to try and fix it, but since he was so incapable of being normal, it backfired royally...

With Rei out of his view, it hit him yet again just how alone he was. Even though a group of people were sitting just a few meters away.

Fuck this...if he was going to be alone, he'd be alone properly.

Dan frowned from the campfire as he saw Kai get up from under the tree he'd put himself back under.

He thought it was only a matter of time, having spotted him and Rei coming back looking anything but happy.

He glanced back at the fire and noticed the object of his fireball's desires wasn't there.

Uh oh...

He set down his guitar and slapped his legs. "Sorry boys, this old timer needs a break!" He informed them as he stood.

The small circle of students stopped their chatter for a moment and gave him slightly forced, polite smiles.

No one was upset...

Dan wandered in the direction he'd subtly watched him skulk off in.

Following as best he could until the others were out of sight before he broke in to a fast jog to catch up with him.

"Hey!" He called after him.

Kai's entire body tensed at the familiar, grating voice.

No...God no, please..not _him_.

Perfect timing, as always.

"Not now!" He barked, not looking back.

Dan panted as he picked up his jogging.

Charlotte was right, he needed to start hitting the gym.

"Wait up!" He begged as he caught up to him.

Kai stopped, hands stuffed tightly into the pockets of his pants, glare on point.

"What?" He barked again.

Dan opened his mouth to speak before lifting his hand to signal to him to give him a second while he caught his breath.

"S'matter?" He asked.

"Nothing..." He bit.

He tried to calm himself, remembering the recent fall out the two of them had.

He didn't want to really push him back again, it was hell without him.

But, he still wanted to be alone at the moment.

Dan finally caught his breath completely. "Don't give me that...something happened with Rei. I can tell. On top of whatever the hell else has been going on. The museum not help any?" He asked, disappointed his brilliant plan to shove them together would break the ice.

Kai scoffed, feeling himself getting riled up again. "Nothing happened, I don't want to talk about it right now."

Dan's shoulders dropped, frustrated.

"Come on...don't do this all the time. We've talked about this." He pleaded almost.

"Something is going on and clearly bothering you..."

"It's just _stupid_!" Kai shouted, using Rei's word, "This whole god damn thing is stupid, why did you have to bring _him_ here?" His voice cracked, feeling his emotions getting mixed together.

He pulled back, pinching the bridge of his nose to calm himself down again.

Breathe like the doctor instructed...

Dan was too used to getting lashed at to be that taken aback.

"Because you two needed your heads bumping together. I don't know what happened but it's gone on long enough, wouldn't you say?"

"I _tried_ to fix it!" Kai argued back, his tone not as deadly but more upset.

Dan tilted his head.

"And...?"

"And it made shit worse." Kai grumbled, turning his head to look away from him as he shifted where he stood.

Dan sighed.

Yep. Sounded about right. His boy didn't do 'I'm sorry' so well.

"Kai, what happened?" He asked him for the millionth time.

Kai shifted again, going to his normal stance as he worried his bottom lip with his teeth.

"We argued, made up, then argued again... It's fine, I know where I stand now in his eyes so it doesn't matter." He played off.

He didn't really want to tell Dan the whole story about the kiss in the elevator. He'd never hear the end of it, plus Rei said it was stupid and that was that.

As the moments passed by, mixed in with the hopeful look in Dan's eyes, he found himself cracking. He couldn't keep it bottled up any more.

It hurt too much.

"We kissed... Last week at the arcade, that's why we haven't spoken or really seen much of each other... I tried to talk to him about it because I was hated was happening between us and he said it was stupid." Kai explained to him in a low quiet voice, his head hanging lower and lower with each passing word.

The weight he still felt on his shoulders, the pain in his heart, didn't go away though.

Dan choked on his own breath as parts of the story set in.

One part in particular.

His eyes lit up.

"You two kissed!?" He blurted out, dancing on the inside and slightly on the outside. "Buddy! That's great!" He laughed a little as he clapped him on the shoulders with both hands.

Finally! A move! So what if they were being all awkward about it, it would pass!

Oh my God, it was _happening_!

Kai pulled back, "No it's not! How is any of this 'great'?! I lost my best friend because of a _stupid_ slip up!" He argued, his voice going back to deadly as he narrowed his eyes.

Dan flinched.

Oops. Perhaps he had jumped the gun there...

"Sorry...so what do you mean slip up? And what's going on?"

"It was an accident!" he yelled defensively, "I didn't mean to do it! I tried to fix it! This...whatever the hell has happened between us and instead of just saying it was fine he tells me it was _stupid_!" he fired out, pausing only to reload the air in his lungs, "Well guess what!? It was stupid. All of this has been stupid! Why would he care about me? What's there to like about a fuck up like me!?"

His voice cracked near the end, feeling tears prickling up in his eyes.

Dan went in to a slight panic as he listened to his outburst, his boy's heartbreak clear in his voice and feeling it himself.

"...You sure he didn't just panic like you did?" He asked softly, "if it was as out of the blue as it sounds?"

Kai stood there and thought a moment.

Rei said he had panicked, that's why he had moved out of their room...

His room...

He shook his head, "If he wanted to tell me something different he could have..." He said in a low mutter as he stared down at his feet.

Dan cocked his famous brow and smirk.

"You tell him somethin' different?"

Kai shook his head again,

"No..."

Dan grabbed his shoulders again and shook him. "Well then what's with all this!? The fight ain't over yet!"

"What's there to fight for?! He didn't say anything either!" Kai cried out, the first set of tears breaking free.

"And why would he? Look at me, I'm an asshole! You know that better than anyone."

Dan grinned and nodded furiously.

"I do know that! But I also know he's _sooo_ in to it!"

Kai scoffed again and rolled his teary eyes, "I doubt that."

His grin fell to a soft smile. He'd seen the tears but wanted to try and lighten the mood.

He figured he may as well go whole hog now they'd done...somethin'.

"You're so blind, you know that? The amount of times I've almost had to put a bucket under him he drools so much!"

Kai arched a brow, "The hell are you talking about?!" He snapped, feeling it was the best option at this point.

Dan rolled his eyes.

"Oh, _pleaaaaase_! You can't be that blind! You can almost see the sparkly hearts popping around his head whenever you're around! A-and you it can't have passed your notice his month of teaching should have ended ages ago!?" he reeled off, grabbing at any evidence he could think of to light a fire under his...fireball.

Kai's brow rose higher, "Then why is he still here?!" He snapped, avoiding the other things Dan had said.

He wasn't blind, he could see perfectly fine.

And what he saw was nothing.

Dan smacked him around the head.

"Cus he wants to be close to you, moron! He asked to stay! "

Kai hissed and held the side Dan had smacked, giving him another death glare that would have killed him on the spot if looks could kill.

Oh, how he wished.

"Well, packing up and leaving is sure a funny way of showing it!"

Dan let out an irritated groan.

"Well, who ran for the hills the second the elevator opened?!"

Kai's glare softened, but he closed his mouth tight and looked away again.

Yeah, he panicked first.

He wasn't good at these things, they knew that.

Rei leaving like that had hurt though, he just needed to give him some time before he came back. Why couldn't he have done that for him?

"I did..." He admitted quietly, the guilt weighing down on his shoulders again.

Dan ruffled his hair.

"So you're both as dopey as each other!" He said affectionately.

Kai didn't have it in him to push his hand away, sinking into himself as he stood there.

"...You really think he likes me?" He asked, trying to find some little hope to hold onto.

The devil on his shoulder told him not to grip too tightly though.

Dan's giddiness made his hands get carried away, going to his cheeks and smooshing them.

"Yes! Look at you! You're a handsome son of a bitch! You're musical! You're smart! You're nice...sometimes!" He listed off.

Kai found it in him to push him away this time, rubbing at his squished up cheeks as his glare came back.

"Then why didn't he say anything?"

"Well...did it cross your mind he didn't want to say in case he got rejected...just like you did?"

Kai shrugged his shoulders at him.

"He could have at least tried, he always tries... This was different, so obviously what you think he feels for me isn't what it is."

Dan sighed. If he couldn't see how much Rei liked him, telling him wouldn't help...

"Well...I don't know what else to tell you, buddy...you're both stupid..." he said before taking a breath, "but what about now? You're not talking still over it?"

Kai shook his head no again almost violently, "Like I said, we argued. Talking about it didn't help, it just made it worse."

Dan arched a brow. "How the hell did you manage that!?"

Kai gestured to himself, "Did you forget who I am?" He asked sarcastically.

His eyes rolled. "Never cease to outdo yourself...let me guess, you got angry at him?"

"Why wouldn't I have?" He asked gruffly, putting his arms back around his chest.

Dan gave him a look of disbelief.

"Wha!? Why would you get mad at him!?"

Kai sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose.

How many times did he have to tell him?!

"Because he said it was stupid! Stupid just like me, just like any feelings I ever had for him!" He bit back angrily.

Dan's eye twitched. God damn teenagers! Why did they have to pick apart and analyse every word and still get things monumentally wrong?!

Was he this moronic when he was a teenager?!

...Actually, there was that time...

With Jenny Slater...

...Bitch. He put so much work in to that mix tape.

"What was he supposed to say!?" he argued with him.

Kai let out a slight growl of frustration.

"That it was fine, that he didn't care if his lips touched mine. Something other than it being stupid! That was his window and he shut it hard and bolted it shut, the end. Why are we still talking about this?"

It was Dan's turn to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Again. Kids were fuckin' stupid...

"He probably said it out of embarrassment, genius!"

"So what do you want me to do? Go find him and just lay it out all on the table, hope for the best with a smile on my face?!" He shrieked out higher pitched.

The idea alone made his face burn a thousand times hotter than the sun.

The idea alone made Dan's face glow and beam as bright as the sun.

Once again with that stupid grin, he gripped his shoulders and shook him hard.

"YES! That's _exactly_ what you should do!"

Kai's eyes widened in fear, he was being sarcastic but of course Dan Harris had to take him literally.

"No, no no no." He said shaking his head again violently, "I wasn't being serious, moron!"

Dan shook him harder.

" _Whhhhyyyyy_!? Grow some balls, will ya!?"

Kai choked on his spit, "Why don't you mind your own business for once?!" He asked, hitting his arms away from his again.

Always with the damn touching!

"I said no, and I meant it."

Dan let out a defeated sigh.

"Fine...can't make ya. But I hope you'll at least keep trying to get back on friendly terms with him. You mean too much to each other to let this ruin everything." He told him sternly.

Kai sighed too, despite himself he also nodded.

Dan was right...

Of course he was, the damn prick.

"Fine... Whatever." He said as he pulled his arms back around himself, when did it get so cold all of a sudden?

Dan frowned at him as he took in his white shirt.

"Where's your jacket?"

He shifted his feet, wanting a large hole to open up and eat him.

He'd forgotten he'd done something as corny and dumb as give him his jacket...

"Rei..." He answered in a cracked tone of voice, feeling his face flush again and his back tense at all the suggestive things Dan was gonna throw at him now.

Dan, right on cue, blinked before giving him an epic smirk.

Rei was only in his usual short sleeved clothes. Did he get cooolllld?

Oh...oh lord. That was cute.

"Will you just sack up already and go get him!? I can't handle watching this dance any more!" he whined.

Kai shook his head... Again.

"I already said no." He muttered stubbornly, his arms tightening around his chest.

Dan pouted. He'd banged that drum too many times it seemed.

"Fine...be that way...Just make sure you give him a good apology. You know, instead of...what you usually do..." he said in a voice that imitated Kai's gruff, pissy one as he folded his arms.

"Hn, fine." He settled on, not caring for Dan's impression of him.

He got a slight laugh in return.

"You know, when I piss off Charlotte, I sweeten her up with candy or flowers...both if I screwed up bad." He told him in an effort to brighten the mood.

Kai chuckled a little, knowing Dan, a huge part of his salary probably went on candy and flowers... His face suddenly paled before it went red again.

Oh no...

No, no, no...

"Shit!" He squeaked as his pupils turned to pin dots.

How could he be so stupid?!

"What!?" Dan asked, worried by his face.

"I did get him something, and he currently has it." Kai answered quickly.

Oh, this was just perfect...as if he needed to look any more stupid!

Dan tried to keep his dumb grin in.

"You got him a present?"

"Yes!" he yelled a little flustered and for once his face paling rather than reddening, "It's in my jacket pocket..."

Dan stared at him, wondering what the huge problem was.

"...I put the jacket on _him!"_ he cracked out, panicked, explaining to him what he'd just said yet again because the idiot didn't seem to get it.

His teacher lifted his hands, trying to get him to stop and calm down a little before he set himself off.

"Relax...he probably won't find it. Not like he's going to go through your pockets and open stuff up."

Kai nodded despite not agreeing.

If Rei put his hand in his pocket, he'd know what it was...there was no way he could pass it off as his.

"Anyway..." Dan continued, seeing he wasn't convinced, "isn't the point of buying a gift to, ya know, give it to them? Instead of standing here freaking out about it, why don't you go find him and give it to him?! End this!"

Kai shook his head for the hundredth time.

"A stupid bracelet isn't going to fix this..." he let out sadly.

Dan arched a brow.

Really? Jewelry?

Part of him thought it was cute, the other thought it was a little too obvious...cliche even.

...But then, he guessed it wasn't any worse than the flowers and candy that usually worked on his Auburn haired goddess.

Kai shifted uncomfortably as he saw Dan's face. Feeling the judgement.

"I-He-, we were in the gift shop at the museum and I saw him looking at it. Looked like he really wanted it, but when he looked at the price he put it back!" he explained at a lightening speed, feeling like a complete dork.

Dan's face went back to glowing.

Now it was 100% precious.

He wanted his baby to have pretty things...

He shook himself and gently put his hands on his shoulders again.

Enough was enough.

"Kai...Go talk to him. And I mean _talk_! Whether or not you tell him how you feel is up to you, but at least have the decency to be open and honest with him. For your friendship if nothing else. I know Rei is always the one that comes and tries to fix it, but it can't be him all the time. It has to work both ways! You tried and let the same old things get in the way. Learn from it and go back. Do it right this time..."

Kai stared back.

He hated it when Dan was right...loathed it in fact.

He let out a deep sigh.

"All right..."

Dan slapped his back.

"Atta boy!" he let out enthusiastically, giving him a push to get his feet moving.

He watched him skulk back off and took in a deep breath of the fresh, night air.

He was going to send Charlotte the gossip. Then go melt some young faces around the camp fire with his guitar.

* * *

Rei lay on the bed, anxiously waiting for Scotty to come back. He'd been gone a while...

There's no way he'd actually go, walk up to Kai and straight out ask him about how he felt.

Scotty was a confident guy, but not _that_ confident.

Or stupid.

He was just messing with him, surely.

...Right?

His sighed and tried to make himself comfortable on the hard, uncomfortable mattress of the cabin.

For a rich-boy field trip, he was at least expecting some decent-ass beds...

His ears perked as he heard the cabin door click and sat up, feeling the nerves coming back.

He hadn't, had he!?

As the figure stepped slowly in to the cabin, his heart stopped beating in his chest.

It wasn't Scotty...

Instead, Kai dared raise his eyes to get a glimpse of Rei, sat on the bed looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.

He would to...but Dan was right, he had to fix it. Or try at least.

"Hey..." he greeted awkwardly.

"Hey?" Rei answered in a similar tone.

Kai shifted.

Shit...what now?

"You uh...havin' fun?"

He kicked himself.

 _That's_ the best he could come up with!?

Rei cocked a brow at him.

"Sure?" He answered uneasily.

What part of any of this was 'fun'?

He had been cold shouldered through the museum, kidnapped and taken out into the woods only to be yelled at.

Kai shifted his feet again.

"You always did like this kind of shit..." he continued awkwardly, avoiding any real talk for the time being.

Maybe he could fix it by acting like normal...just carrying on.

"Well maybe if I could actually walk around like a normal person for it I'd be a bit happier." Rei scoffed, looking at him heatedly.

He shrank a little. So much for sweeping it under the carpet and carrying on like it never happened.

"S-sorry..."

He tried again anyway...

"On the plus side at least you don't have to...I dunno, slide through mud or whatever it is they have planned for us tomorrow." He shrugged with an uncomfortable forced smile.

Rei's scowl fell a little, that was going to be fun watching.

"That sounds fun." He said, giving him a small smile.

He cocked a brow at him.

"Sounds like a waste of time to me..."

"You think everything is a waste of time, aside from breathing, blading, and studying." Rei said dully, "It'll be fun, if you actually try and enjoy it."

" _Sometimes breathing is overrated too..."_ Kai thought to himself.

He bit his tongue at telling him that he'd rather chew glass. He didn't want another talk about being such a jerk to people.

"Maybe you're right..." he lied.

"I can be right sometimes to ya know, you don't always _have_ to be right." Rei replied a bit more playfully.

This stupid tension between them had to be crushed.

They shared a cabin, he couldn't very well be mad at him all night and for the rest of this trip.

"I'm going to take pictures of you in the mud though, send them to the guys." He joked with a glint in his eyes.

He narrowed his eyes at him.

"I wouldn't if you ever want to walk again..."

Rei chuckled, "Walking's overrated." He said as he flicked his wrist at him and then patted the bed beside him since Kai was clearly going to stand there all night if he didn't.

He was doing his best to extend the olive branch this time, he would take it, even if nothing more came from it but mending their friendship.

Kai blinked at him a few times before obeying. Quietly walking over the wooden floor and turning to sit, shivering a little as a draft hit him.

"Oh! Here, you can have this back!" Rei blurted out quickly as he noticed, trying to get his jacket off as if it was burning his skin.

Kai's face fell as he watched him rip it off like he couldn't get it off sooner and put it in his hands.

"Oh...thanks..."

"Thank you for letting me use it." Rei stuttered quietly, fighting down the blush.

Even with it off he could still smell Kai's scent on him.

"Yeh...any time." He said just as quietly as he slipped it back on.

Oh good...now it smelled like Rei. Just what he needed...

An all too familiar, awkward silence fell between them.

He racked his brain for something to say about it all but chickened out every time.

As much as he tried, all he felt comfortable doing was trying to avoid it all.

"So...did you like the museum? Kind of boring, huh?" He lied with another slightly forced chuckle.

Even with those dorks there, he had a blast.. The only downside was just that.. thing... between him and Rei.

"I thought it was great, got to learn a bit more about history and all that good stuff." Rei answered nonchalantly with a shrug.

"You didn't have fun?" He asked almost accusingly, knowing Kai probably didn't think it to be 'boring' at all.

He lived for that kind of thing, who was he trying to fool?

Kai gave a forced shrug back. Rei had already accused him of being a nerd a few too many times.

"Was all right I guess..."

"I guess after actually being to those places and seeing it for ourselves, really can make it boring." Rei said, his mood getting dragged back down a little.

Kai tilted his head at him.

"Never been to Greece though..." he reasoned.

"We were in Italy, that's close enough isn't it?" Rei asked, giving him a questioning look beside him.

Kai's brow twitched, looking at him like he was high. His history nerd forces overpowering him.

"Close _enough_!? They're completely different!"

"What's so different about them then?" Rei asked, laughing on the inside and hoping to pry open his little nerd brain and actually get him to talk with him like a civilized person of society.

"Well aside from the obvious like language, art and literature they had completely different governments and ideologies for starts!" He told him matter of factly.

Rei just smirked at him, there it was.

"Hmmm, okay. If you say so, they seem the same to me." He said with a shrug, knowing it would probably rile him up.

Before he could though he figured changing the subject would be better, even if he didn't want to open up that bad door again so soon.

"Are we okay?" He asked quietly.

Kai stopped for a second before letting out a sigh.

Damnit...Rei beat him to it.

He guessed that wasn't hard. He had been too much of a chicken shit to just bite the bullet.

Thank god he had. They'd be here all night otherwise.

"I was hoping we could be..." he answered just as quietly before turning to him. "I'm sorry about earlier...I didn't mean for it to get like that. I-I really did want to fix it..."

Rei looked up at him, feeling his stomach twist in knots for a second.

"It's okay... I'm sorry that I put us in this mess."

He shook his head at him. Dan was right, he had to be honest with him.

"It wasn't your fault...I know I made out it was, but it really wasn't. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did..." he said as he turned his head from him, "old habits just die hard, you know?"

Rei nodded.

"Yeah, I guess... Wouldn't really be you though if it had been different..." He said and looked down at the floor, "….I just want what we had before all of this."

Kai sighed, "That's what I want too. That's what I was trying to get at earlier...badly..." he told him as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I don't hold it against you, you've never been that great at talking..." Rei answered with a slight, toothy smirk.

Kai forced himself to look away, feeling himself bubbling up, fragments things to say in his head getting jumbled up as he went over all the stupid things he'd thrown at him earlier.

"A-and I'm not mad you made friends here or anything!" he blurted out, "You always have been a people person...it's just after what happened I thought you were done with me and I couldn't stand it!" He spewed out at rapid speed. His eyes watering beyond his control as he admitted it.

Rei watched him quietly and went wide eyed at the sudden explosion.

He hadn't meant for him to feel like that.

"I would never do that to you, they were just there and I had been talking with them before all this. They're really nice, and aside from you I didn't know anyone. I like Harris and all, but he's a bit much at times." he chuckled, "I wanted to have someone our age to hang with is all." He said just as quickly.

"It'd take a lot more than this for me to be done with you...We've been through too much as it is. I'm not going anywhere."

The last part made Kai well up harder.

It was relief. Feelings aside, he'd really come to depend on Rei. They fought, sure, and were very different people. But no one seemed to see him as clearly as Rei did. He just felt...safe with him.

And that was how he'd treated him?

"But I always do this to you..." his voice wobbled, "I never mean to, but I do...everyone keeps saying there's only so many times you can push someone away before they never come back and I thought this was it!" He blurted out, on a roll as he turned to him, "I can't lose you, Rei. I need you!"

Rei felt his own tears pricking in his eyes.

Nobody had ever told him they needed him before...

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

He stopped himself again, figuring telling him he loved him would make him bolt out the door and run without a second look back.

Kai needed a friend, he always had, he didn't need a boyfriend right now.

He sniffed the tears as best as he could and swallowed the lump, feeing like an idiot for saying it, but Rei deserved to hear it.

"I'm just...sorry I'm such a fuck up."

"Stop it, I don't like it when you talk like that." Rei said as firmly as he could, turning to him and put a hand on his back.

"You're not a fuck up Kai, you're only human. Everyone makes mistakes, it's part of life."

He nodded at him, despite not really agreeing. Yes, people made mistakes. But he'd made way too many when it came to Rei. From their early days as fresh teammates up to now. He wanted to lay out another thousand apologies, but they'd be going round and round all night.

Instead his jacket pocket burned and his fingers itched.

Was this the appropriate time?

When else would there be?

He stuck his hand in his pocket and flung it out just as quickly, holding it out straight and gripping a small paper bag in front of his face while his skin burned.

"I got you this!" He shrieked out suddenly, "I know it's not much of an apology o-or like I think I can bribe you with it or something I just thought you wanted it!"

Rei blinked a few times.

Was that even English?

He pulled the hand that was on Kai's back down and held his hand out, letting him place the little bag in his palm.

He tore away the paper, his eyes lighting up as he looked at it.

No way...

He'd seen this in the gift shop.

Amethyst and amber beads...

The ones he wanted but couldn't afford because...

"You didn't have to do that; this thing was expensive as hell!" He about yelled out in shock.

Kai loosened his tie a little more, feeling like he was in a sauna.

Fuck, this was uncomfortable.

"It's the right one, isn't it?" He cracked, ignoring what he just said about the money.

"It is." Rei nodded dumbly as he inspected it again, loving it just as much as the first time he saw it.

"It's awesome... Thank you, but you really didn't have to Kai." He said as he slipped it over his left wrist.

"S'alright..." he replied as he watched him, tapping the pads of his thumbs together.

Rei turned, biting into his lower lip a little as he looked at him for a second.

This would probably burn the bridge back down but he wanted him to know they were okay, that he really liked his gift.

Without warning, or waiting, he shot up and threw his arms around Kai's neck, pulling him in tight. Doing his best at making it more 'friend to friend' than 'pining after him hopelessly'.

Kai turned in to goo, his hands stuck to his sides as he tried to stop himself from liquefying.

"Thank you." Rei breathed, looking at it on his wrist and cocked a brow at it as a question hit him.

"How did you know this was the one I was looking at?" He asked, pulling away from him.

"I was watching you in the store..." he blurted out, tensing hard as the sentence left him.

"I-I don't mean _watching_!" He defended quickly.

Ah man...That didn't have 'creep' all over it at all...

"Oh." Was all Rei's brain could get out of his mouth for him as he sat back down beside him.

He'd ignored him all day but paid enough attention to him to see he wanted it?

"It-it kind of matches our eyes... It's why I was looking at it..." He admitted, face flushing and burning.

Kai's throat dried up like the Sahara and paled.

Had he not actually wanted it? He was just musing about the colors!?

Did he just buy him his eyes!?

Oh god, now he really _did_ come off like a creep!

"I guess they kinda do..." his voice wobbled a little.

"I love it." Rei said firmly as he twisted it round his wrist, taking in the colors again.

Kai relaxed as he watched him admiring it, perking up.

He could tell by his voice that he meant it.

He'd done good...for once.

"It uh...stuff like that suits you."

"You think so?" Rei asked, fighting back a maddening blush that had only just calmed down.

"Mmhmmm..." He squeaked a little as the color came back to his own face with a vengeance.

Where had that come from? Since when was he Mr. Fashion!?

"Goes with all...this..." he said as he gestured at Rei in general.

Rei bit back a laugh, that was the most interesting compliment he had ever gotten.

"Thanks." He chuckled, the air around them seeming cleared up and he was more than grateful for it.

Rei went back to inspecting it, his heart fluttering in his chest.

This was about the nicest thing someone had ever given him.

As he spun it back around the beads caught the light, the amber almost turning gold and the amethyst turning brighter.

Without really thinking he took it off and held it up, close to the side of Kai's head and leaned in a bit.

Kai froze solid and stared back at him. His chest starting to pound at the sudden closeness.

"What are you...?"

With Kai's eyes widening, Rei could get a good look at the two amethyst irises he loved so much.

"Well I'll be damned...they really are the same." Rei answered a little dreamily until he too froze, finally realizing how close he had leant up towards him and how weird this might look.

Kai gave him a small , crooked smile. Mostly because he wasn't sure what else to do.

Rei cleared his throat, feeling like a weirdo.

"Do uh...do the other ones match mine?" he asked, hoping that if he made him do it, it would be less weird.

"Uh...Lemme see..." he said as he gently took it from his hand and returned he favor, holding them up at the side of his head.

The second he did, he didn't really care about the beads any more. His amethyst was too taken with Rei's amber.

Rei's face burned and he found himself leaning slightly closer, holding his breath.

"Are they close?" He breathed out after a few moments of silence and a building tension.

His heart pounded even harder as he felt an almost magnetic pull.

The hand holding the bracelet came down.

"Perfect..." he breathed out as he leaned in a little more.

Rei swallowed hard as his heart slammed.

"Perfect?" He asked in barely a whisper, tilting his head slightly as he followed the tug.

"Uh huh..." was the best he could manage in response as his head swirled, a horrible yet exciting feeling fluttering in his gut, inching a little closer still.

He saw the perfect amber eyes flutter closed and knew there was no going back.

Nor did he want to.

His anxiety and nerves were too drunk on the feeling to care about the what ifs.

His heart raced as he followed suit and let his eyes close, letting the universe take the wheel.

The combination of Rei's soft breath tickling him and their lips pressing softly together made his bones liquefy and release a numb euphoria he'd never experienced.

This wasn't like the elevator.

This felt right...

When he realised he hadn't breathed in a while, he gently pulled back, parting them and letting his eyes open.

Amber was already staring back at him a little dazed and breathless.

Then they turned a little scared.

As the high subsided and the reality of what happened clicked, Rei's hands took hold of the upper arms of his jacket sleeves and gripped them.

He couldn't let him bolt again...he didn't want to do this again.

How did this happen again!?

"Kai..." he breathed out anxiously, wanting to say something, anything to keep him there and talk it out.

A shudder went down Kai's spine at the sound of his voice.

His brain didn't read the grip on his sleeves or the tone of his voice as an attempt to keep him there.

He read it as a green light to do it again.

He leaned in again, faster than before and planted a harder kiss back, unable to control himself.

"Mmph!" Rei let out in surprise before his eyes fluttered closed again.

Kai's eyes snapped open.

Fuck! Had he misread!?

He pulled away, making Rei fall forward slightly and open his eyes almost as quickly as they'd fallen closed.

"I'm sorry..." Kai stuttered breathlessly as his face burned, "I thought you wanted-"

Rei shut him up by kissing him back, accidentally crushing their noses together before remembering he had to tilt his head.

They melted in to each other, ignoring the slight nose bumps or awkward angles as they established some kind of rhythm, only parting to refill their lungs.

Rei sucked up enough courage to move his hands up his arms and slid around his neck, pulling them closer together.

Kai tensed and pulled away, finally hearing the alarm bells going off.

"Rei..." he panted, "you sure-"

"Yeh!" he panted back, immediately cutting him off as he pulled him back in.

He instantly regret his choice of being forceful. He was trying to be romantic...he just made their teeth knock together.

He pulled back a little and ran his tongue over his teeth, wanting to die.

"S-sorry...my ba-"

Kai's hands snaked around his sides and settled on his back, causing Rei to go weak and easy to pull him back in with as much force as Rei had, crashing their lips back together heatedly before he got withdrawal.

Part of them were both fighting cringes at the mistakes.

But for the most part, their heads were too foggy and relishing in the moment to give a shit.

This was the greatest thing that happened to any body in the history of the world. Ever.

It could have been mere seconds that passed, could have been hours, but Rei's ears perked.

Despite the mind numbing kissing going on and the world seemingly miles away there were voices and they were edging closer. As the distraction became louder he realized the voices were Scotty and Reuben. Without warning, or really wanting to, his hands that had been around Kai's neck came back to his chest and shoved him off.

Panting, slightly dizzy, and well turned on with his face as red as his headband he finally found his voice.

"Scotty and Reuben are coming." He said in a slight panic.

Kai shook himself back in to the room, the shock of the shove getting replaced by his own panic.

No. No no no.

 _ **Come**_ _**on**_ , this wasn't fair!

He knew he hated them all for a reason!

He jumped off the bed and bolted for the bathroom, snatching up his bag in the process so he could look like he was getting ready for bed.

As the bathroom door shut, the cabin door opened.

Scotty came in and gave Rei an apologetic look.

"Hey...sorry, I kind of got...held up..."

Rei shifted uncomfortably, trying to hide the sudden problem that had sprung to life with his elbows and hands.

"Oh?" He tried to look interested.

A bead of sweat dropped from Scotty's head.

"Yeh..."

Reuben bounded through the door, waving at Rei like a toddler waving at someone else's dog.

"Hey Rei!"

Rei's eyes widened, "Hey Reu?"

He wasn't about to move his hands to wave back, but looked to Scotty.

"What happened?"

Scotty palmed his face. T

This was so lame...

"S'mores...s'mores happened."

Reuben threw himself back on to Rei's bed, sitting where Kai was not a few moments ago and grinned at him. "

"They were _sooooooo_ good!" He told him dramatically.

Rei's problem seemed to vanish just like that, his bed bouncing slightly with the extra body.

"Were they?" he asked as he shot a questioning look at Scotty.

"He uh...doesn't handle sugar well..." he explained.

Oh god, it was Max all over again.

"Well, make sure you brush your teeth before bed."

Yup... Was definitely Max all over again.

Reub snorted. "Bed is for the weak!"

Rei looked back to Scotty and cocked a stern brow. He was Scotty's puppy.. not his to deal with.

Scotty rolled his eyes, reading his message loud and clear.

Shit...he thought he could palm him off on Rei.

"Why don't you try and do a push up, Reu?"

Reuben's hyper eyes widened.

"Maybe tonight's the night! I'm feeling lucky!" He exclaimed as he dived on to the floor.

"Gotta be ready for tomorrow after all!"

Scotty sighed. "Atta boy, Reub..."

He turned his head as he heard clattering in the bathroom. His head snapped back to Rei.

" _That Kai?"_ He mouthed as he pointed dramatically.

Rei nodded, _"Yeah."_ He mouthed back, his face feeling hot all of a sudden.

Scotty continued to mouth and gesture at him like there was sound proof glass between them. _"Was he a dick?"_

Rei's face burned.

 _"No, no, nothing like that. All good..."_

He nodded in relief and glanced down at Reuben struggling on the floor.

...He was fine.

 _"Sorry I couldn't talk to him! I'll try again tomorrow!"_ he mouthed as he gave him a reassuring wink.

 _"Don't worry about it, it's okay."_ Rei said quickly, waving his hands in protest.

Shit, did he tell him what happened?

No, he couldn't do that. Kai wouldn't like that, at all!

...And what would he say!?

Were they...were they dating now?!

Damnit, why were these two assholes here?!

 _"It's fine, we worked it out."_

As Scotty opened his mouth, the bathroom door clicked open. Kai came out in his black sweats and white t-shirt for bed, throwing an uncontrollable dirty look in Scotty's direction before his eyes travelled down to...to...

"The hell is this?" he asked dryly. Looking down at his wimpy classmate on the floor in a weird position, his ass sticking up in the air.

Scotty narrowed his eyes at him.

"That is my boy trying to better himself...finally trying to do a push up, aren't you buddy?"

Kai looked again and lifted a brow.

"You're doing it wrong..." he said bluntly.

Rei put a hand to his mouth to stop the laugh. Typical Kai. He hadn't even been paying attention.

Reuben lifted his head with stars in his eyes.

He...he talked to him!?

"I am!? How?!"

Scotty rolled his eyes again.

Of course the _expert_ would have something to say...

"Don't listen to him, man. You do you..."

Reuben wasn't listening, too busy eyeing Kai until a blazing lightbulb went off.

"Of course! Can't do it in this uniform! Too restrictive! Right?! Thanks, Kai!" he yelled as he jumped up, grabbing his bag and speeding in to the bathroom like Kai had moments ago.

The three of them watched him go before they were left in quiet.

Rei eyed back and forth between Scotty and Kai, squirming on the inside as his mind worked overtime trying to think of a way to make them leave.

With a quiet turn of his heel, Kai went over to his own bed, trying not to so much as look at Rei for fear of giving them away.

He pulled out the book from his bag and rolled on to the bed, burying his face in it to make himself invisible while his mind wandered.

...They'd done it.

They'd kissed.

 _Really_ kissed...not that weird, falling over one.

His eyes peered over the top of the book at him, watching him braiding his hair quietly.

His stomach bubbled.

Holy shit, he kissed Rei!

Rei kissed him too, on purpose!

Rei liked him back!

Dan was right!

...Urgh...

Rei's eyes moved and made contact with his, startling him out his giddy thoughts and made him lift the book again.

He blinked at himself.

Why would he hide from him?

He forced his eyes to peer back over the book. Rei was still looking over at him.

He smiled at him. Forgetting he couldn't see most of his face.

Rei saw it though. His eyes always were very expressive.

He gave him a coy one back, which made Kai's stomach squirm even more before he threw a cautious look at Scotty.

The bathroom door threw open.

Reuben strut out, donning a Marvel t-shirt and pyjama pants dotted with his favorite superheroes.

Kai frowned over his book at him.

And Rei called him a nerd...

"...Nice PJ's you got there, Reu." Rei smirked at him.

Reuben put his hands on his hips and stood proudly, happy for the compliment.

"Thanks! Scotty brought his, too!"

Kai's book fell in to his lap as he and Rei both shot a questioning look at the other member.

Scotty let out a laugh of both embarrassment and guilt.

"Actually...I didn't..."

Reuben's face fell, turning to him looking hurt.

"What!?"

Scotty shrugged.

"It was laundry day..."

Reuben tutted and folded his arms.

"Great...way to make me look like an idiot in front of these two!" he scolded.

Rei shook his head.

His time spent with those two, sometimes they acted more like a married couple than best friends.

"You don't look an idiot! I love those movies. Who's your favorite Marvel hero, Reub?" Rei asked curiously.

Kai smirked. Trust Rei to be nice...

He did look an idiot. He was 16 and in jammies.

Reuben's eyes lit up.

"Captain America! Hands down!" he exclaimed as his eyes sparkled.

He loved the idea that a little runt like him could be turned in to a hero.

Rei smirked.

"Mine's Thor."

Scotty piped in.

"Black Widow!"

The two looked at him with arched brows.

"...What? She's smokin' hot! Nothing sexier than a strong woman..."

Scotty and Reuben glanced over at Kai hopefully, maybe they could actually have a conversation?

Kai squirmed.

Oh no...he wasn't getting sucked over to the dork side.

His eyes went to Rei, who was giving him a both pleading and stern look.

He sighed, giving in. If it'd keep him happy...

"Um...Batman, I guess?"

Three sets of eyes blinked at him. Looking both dumbfounded and offended.

Scotty gave a small smile and waved his hand.

"No no, he said _Marvel_ hero..."

Kai blinked back and felt his face get hot, for a less cool reason than before.

...What was the difference?

"Uhh..."

Rei felt bad. He should have known better than to throw him under the bus like that.

"Kai's not really in to that stuff, are you?" he answered for him, turning his gaze back to him.

Kai face went blank as he stared back at him, his mind going back to the kiss and his heart picking up speed.

...What were they talking about again?

He shook his head anyway.

Reuben's face went back to beaming after the temporary rage.

"Oh yeh? What are ya in to then?"

They were going to be friends, damnit!

Kai's face instantly got flustered, snapping his book shut and covering it with his arms.

"None of your damn business!"

Reuben's sugar induced balls got the better of him, letting out a cheeky grin as he ran at him.

"Whatcha reading?!" he asked as he tried to get it out his hands.

Kai's eyes widened as he squirmed away from him.

What fresh hell was this?!

Did he hit him?

Rei would be mad if he hit him...

"Come on! Show me!" he said cheerfully as he kept trying to move his arms.

Scotty's face paled.

As did Rei's.

What the hell was he doing!?

" _Good bye, sweet prince..."_ Scottythought to himself.

"Just a book! Will you get the hell off me?!" he bit.

Reuben rolled his eyes.

"I can see that, what book?!" he asked as he tried to look.

Rei smirked.

"Sherlock Holmes." he answered for him. Figuring he should end it before Reuben got himself hurt.

Reuben stopped poking at him and Kai cocked a brow at him.

Rei let out a snort.

"Am I wrong?"

He shook his head and blushed.

One, because Rei knew.

Two, because now he felt like the nerd.

Reuben beamed.

"Really!? I love those stories! You watch the show?!"

The cabin door threw open.

"Hey! What part of lights out at ten did you boys not understand?!" a gruff, annoyed voice scolded from the doorway.

Reuben's cockiness disappeared and turned back in to scared puppy.

"Sorry, Mr. Simmons!"

Mr. Simmons gave them a stern look.

"Get to bed, boys..."

"Yes, sir..." three of the four of them replied.

Including Rei, who wondered if he even had to, considering he was technically a teacher, too.

As the door closed again, Kai changed his mind.

Mr. Simmons was his new favorite teacher.

Sorry, Harris...This one took him _out_ of embarrassing situations.

Reuben shuffled to the switch and turned the light off before blindly making his way to his bed with his tail between his legs.

He never got told off...

The sound of huffs and blankets shuffling as they settled in for the night came and went, leaving the room in quiet.

Kai and Rei lay with their eyes wide open, both staring at the ceiling, both pondering over the same things.

After a while, the sound of deep breathing floated through the pitch black room.

Someone was asleep.

Kai's fingers twitched.

He needed to talk to him. This was torture...

He grabbed his phone off the floor and pulled the covers over his head, the gentle light of his phone illuminating the dark little fortress.

His thumbs twitched.

He wanted to talk to him...but say what?

And what if he was asleep?

Surely he wasn't asleep...he was a night owl.

He typed the first thing that came to his head and hit send.

 _Kai: Hello._

He felt a shiver of cringe go through him as he heard Rei's phone buzz.

Again, that was what he went with!?

His blood chilled as he heard Rei move to get his phone.

It ran even colder as he heard a slight snort.

He scrunched his eyes shut, waiting for a reply to come.

Seconds later, it buzzed, one eye peeling open.

 _Rei: Greetings._

Kai died a little. Why was he so fucking terrible at life?

He slapped himself. He had to say something.

They couldn't just leave it as is...even though those two douchebags were making it impossible.

 _Kai: How you doing?_

 _Rei: I'm doing fine, you comfortable in your little tent over there?_

Rei hit send, looking over at the small blue light trying to break through the sheets on Kai's bed. He wanted to laugh at him but didn't want to wake up Scotty, knowing he probably needed it after dealing with a sugar rushed Reuben.

Kai blinked, feeling his chest clench uncomfortably. What should he write back?

' _Would be better if you joined me...'_

Whoa...down boy...talk to him, not make him run for the hills.

 _Kai: Yeh._

There we go...

Rei lifted an amused brow. He wasn't a man of many words.

 _Rei: That's good... so I have a question._

He held his breath as he hit send, watching his little text bubble pop up in the chat in front of him.

Kai shivered and gulped. Nerves setting in with the feeling something was about to go wrong.

 _Kai: Yeh?_

Rei's fingers hovered the screen of his phone for a minute, sucking in some air and not releasing it until he typed out what he wanted.

 _Rei: Do you actually like me, or did we just get caught up in a moment?_

Kai blew out a silent breath. Here it was, ready to be put out on the table.

Damnit, why didn't he ask Rei first?!

On the other hand, thank god this was via message and not face-to-face. He could feel himself sweating a little as it was.

…...

Was it all right to do this by message? Didn't people usually confess their love in a better setting than under their own separate blankets with two...geeks asleep on the other side?

He heard rustling from Rei's bed.

Crap, he was waiting on an answer.

What did he put?!

 _Kai: Yes._

He hit send in a panic.

Rei frowned as it popped up on his screen.

 _Rei: ...to which part?_

He kicked himself.

His thumb hovered over the screen.

 _Kai: I like you._

Delete.

 _Kai: I love you._

DELETE.

 _Kai: The 'I like you' part._

He dug deep and hit send. His heart racing.

What if it was just a 'caught in a moment' thing for Rei?!

He'd have that message on record. Forever!

He gripped his phone and strained his ears to try and hear Rei as his heart tried to escape through his ribcage.

Rei's eyes and face lit up, his heart lept in to his throat while his stomach tried to fall out of him, all the while relief and joy flooded through his veins.

Kai waited...what was taking him so long!?

Every muscle in his body tightened as his phone buzzed.

 _Rei: Good...cause I like you too._

A quiet, high-pitched _"Hn!"_ left his throat as his knees curled up, his stomach doing weird things as a grin stretched across his face.

Rei's ears perked before his own stupid grin spread across his.

Meanwhile, Reuben's head and slightly twitching eyes kept moving between the two glowing lights, wondering what on earth was going on. And what was that sound that just came out of Kai?

He shook his head.

Scotty was right. Those two just needed to kiss already...

* * *

End of chapter!

Finalllllyyyyy!

No, it wasn't a perfect kiss with unicorns, roses and violins.

You remember your first kiss? Piss poor and awkward as hell...fitting for these two, I thought XD

I really, really hope you enjoyed the chapter and would love to know what you thought about it!

Thank you so much for reading! See you next time! :)


	21. Nerds of a Feather

Hello, my lovely readers! It's been a month already!?

A big thanks to you for still being with me and checking back! And a bigger thank you to all of you that reviewed the last chapter! I loved your reactions to it!

So...I'd intended to make this camp thing just one more chapter...but once I got on a roll, the word count kept on adding up.

There's a lot I wanted to do with this little trip of theirs that I feel is important for the story, but trying to force it all in to one chapter just wasn't working...that and I don't want to kill you all with an epic long chapter.

So, there's going to be one more! Hope you don't mind! Especially since this story is coming to its last parts!

Without further ado, here it is! I hope you enjoy it! :)

* * *

Chapter 21 – Nerds of a Feather

The faint beams of sun breaking their way in through the windows combined with the unfamiliar bed made Kai's eyes open just before six the next morning.

Running a hand roughly over his face to wipe the sleep off, he startled for a moment before his brain reminded him that there was a reason he was in this wooden cabin. And a reason his classmates were sleeping opposite him.

It was only a few fractions of a second later that he sat bolt upright in his bed, something that looked similar to a child realizing they'd woken up Christmas morning.

Staring ahead at the bed in front of his, tufts of disheveled black hair poked up just enough to be in view.

Every muscle in his body clenched as an invisible force sucker punched him hard in the gut.

Rei liked him back.

They'd kissed.

Several times! Each time even better than the last!

His head ran riot while the aftershocks that hit his insides fizzed.

He'd have to look up how to do it properly. Didn't want to put him off because he resembled a tuna when they kissed.

Were they properly dating now? As in... _boyfriends!_?

Was he Rei's _boyfriend_ now?!

He bit back the grin trying to escape, insides doing weird things at the thought, which made him wiggle his toes.

He wound himself in. They hadn't even been on a date yet.

Shit...that was a point. Was he supposed to ask him, or was Rei?

...Where would he even take him?

Ohhhh God...what if Rei changed his mind. Realized he'd made a mistake.

The fizzing turned to an unpleasant one when images of Rei getting up from a restaurant table and walking out haunted his imagination.

He shook it off.

" _Christ, get it together, Hiwatari!"_ he slapped himself hard, throwing the thin blanket off himself, glancing around at the other beds.

Thankfully, the three of them were still fast asleep, like normal people.

Which meant he could get himself ready for this shit show without them getting in the way. That face-paint took time, after all.

And meant it avoided them seeing the state of his hair first thing in the morning.

He picked his clothes out for the day, as well as his toiletry bag and took himself for a peaceful, leisurely shower.

He came out quietly a little while later, transformed from the bed-headed mess to something more put together. War-paint included.

" _Bring clothes you don't mind getting ruined"_ , they'd been told. Which didn't leave much for him to pick from his closet.

A grey, almost sleeveless T-shirt and navy-blue pants that he'd bought ages ago and never worn and some old armbands to cover his wrists up.

He glanced around again. Still asleep.

His eyes fell on Rei curled up on his side and fought the urge to wake him up when another realisation hit him.

He wasn't going to get a chance to talk to him or...anything else until they got back to school.

He let out a sigh.

Suddenly being here sucked even more.

He grumpily took himself back to the bed and kicked his legs up, grabbing his phone.

May as well make use of the quiet time.

Opening up the browser on his phone. Setting it to private, he went straight to WikiHow...

Typing in his query, he cringed inwardly as the articles clearly written by girls rolled in.

" _How to kiss a boy passionately."_

" _How to have a long, sensual kiss."_

" _How to kiss your boyfriend for the first time."_

He shuddered, ashamed to know himself.

Didn't stop him tapping on the first link, looking up every few seconds to make sure no one was waking up...

As the morning hit 7:30, he jumped out his skin when an ear-numbing, screeching alarm went off, almost dropping his phone and frantically getting rid of the page.

Almost in unison, the three others let out startled gasps, being rudely awaken.

A loud groan joined in with the screeching, followed by a pillow being flung from the other side of the room.

"Reuuuuuub! What have I told you about that alarm tone?!" Scotty's croaky voice scolded.

The pillow hit his friend in the chest, a little too low to get the head shot he was hoping for.

Reuben sat up. Bright eyed and smiling.

"Heh, sorry! But it's time to get up! Shotgun for the shower!" he cried out excitedly as he threw himself out of bed, Marvel PJ's and all, and dashed to the bathroom.

Scotty let out a deep sigh as he heaved himself up, glancing around at the other two.

Rei coming to, and Kai...

Ready?

"Mornin' guys...how long you been up, Kai?"

Kai graced him with eye contact.

"Hour or so." he replied bluntly.

At the sound of his voice, Rei had a moment similar to Kai's when it all came hitting him like a tonne of bricks, sitting himself up and looking over his shoulder at him.

Ooooh...he hadn't seen him in grey before.

But frankly, he could wear neon pink or be one of those assholes who wore socks with sandals and he'd still look hot.

"Raring to go, huh?" he teased with a smirk.

His violet eyes wandered over to him.

"Hn. Hardly..." he replied in his usual dull tone, but unable to mirror the smirk back at him.

Scotty cleared his throat.

"Well, you'd better bring your A-game today. Reub has been pumped for this for weeks!"

Kai rolled his eyes.

Yeh...judging by the athletic skills of the current people in this room, _he_ was the one that needed to dig deep.

"Why? Doesn't matter...just a stupid class thing."

Scotty rolled his eyes back.

"Maybe, I don't know, because it's supposed to be fun and a little friendly competition between classmates?"

Rei intervened, fearing Kai would say something rude before they'd even brushed their teeth.

"Exactly! Just a little fun to blow off some steam! But don't worry Scotty, Kai never half-asses anything. Especially when pride is at stake."

Both Kai and Scotty raised a brow at him.

"What? You gonna let Giles make you look like a bitch?" he smirked harder.

He knew he probably shouldn't have said that. But it seemed the best option to rile him up enough to actually try and join in.

Scotty held back a laugh at seeing him physically tense.

Rei was good...

The bathroom door flung open, Reuben strutting out and putting his hands on his hips. The three sets of eyes falling on him and looking just as perplexed as the superhero jammie incident.

He was kitted out in high quality sportswear. Black with lines of camouflage running down the sides.

Scotty looked his friend up and down. He hadn't seen this ensemble before.

"...Did you buy that specially for this?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yup!" he beamed, "I...well I didn't have anything else suitable, apart from our gym uniform..." he admitted.

Scotty gave him a supportive nod.

"Looks great, just...don't be upset if you get it covered in mud."

Reuben grinned.

"The dirt will be like medals of battles well fought!"

"Well...I mean, sure? Fair enough." Scotty replied, not knowing anything else to say to that.

Reuben had enough of the chit-chat, forcing Scotty up out of bed to get ready, dying to get out to to start the day.

Finally, with him and Rei ready, he dragged them all out of their cabin, joining the others that had already started to filter in to the area of tables. One of which was laid out with trays of eggs, bacon and other standard breakfast foods by the staff for them to help themselves.

Rei sighed as he watched Scotty an Reuben go on ahead. This was going to be difficult with crutches.

Someone else seemed to read his mind.

"What do you want? I'll grab it for you." a quiet, husky voice came from behind him.

He jumped a little, turning his head as his heart fluttered.

"Thanks...Uh...A little of everything, I guess?" he answered too quickly before he kicked himself.

Good job, Rei...look like a pig in front of him.

"M'kay. Go sit down."

He nodded, hobbling in the direction the other two were going.

He sat down, eyes glued to him in the near distance, even while Scotty was trying to make small talk with him.

Damn, he looked good in grey.

And holy crap he wanted to make out with him again...stupid school trip!

"Uh huh..." he replied automatically to the noise in his ear.

Scotty frowned. He asked him if he'd ever been to a camp like this before.

He followed his staring and snorted.

"That shirt really shows off his guns, huh?" he said quietly as he leaned in to him.

Rei was suddenly back in the room.

"Hm!? S-sure. Guess they do...How's the food?!"

Scotty laughed at him.

"Not half bad. Nothing that causes the same level of drooling as you though."

Rei's face burned.

"Shut up!" he begged in a hiss, seeing Kai coming over to them.

His demand was granted as Kai appeared, setting the plate containing a little of everything like he'd asked for on the silent table.

"Thanks..." Rei smiled at him gratefully, breaking the silence, getting a little one back in return.

It wasn't long in to their breakfasts that the two teachers finally made an appearance, carrying hot cups of coffee that made Kai green with envy.

That hadn't been an option for them.

"Gooooooood morning, campers!" Dan's overly enthusiastic voice greeted, grabbing the attention of the mere twelve students present.

"Morning, Mr. Harris!" most of them replied politely.

Dan's game show host grin beamed as he put his hands on his hips roughly, taking in a huge, exaggerated breath.

"Smell that, boys?! That's air at its freshest! And looks like the weather is working in our favor!" he exclaimed excitedly. "So, let's not waste it! Here's the beautiful Mr. Simmons with a rundown of today's itinerary! Tim?!" he yelled as he snapped his head to his co-worker.

Tim's still tired eyes gave him a nod of thanks for the...introduction as he cleared his throat.

"All right, boys...I hope you all packed your comfortable shoes, because once we're done here, we're going to start the day off with a nature hike!" he informed them, getting mixed reactions from the students.

"We're going to be taking a pretty easy route through to the waterfall! It's about two miles from here! At a decent pace, we should make it back here just in time for lunch!"

Mr. Harris butted in. He wasn't selling it enough for his liking.

"Which is when the real fun begins!" he fired out, "After getting your blood pumping from the hike, we're going to have a little barbecue to regain your strength for an afternoon of friendly fun! You'll be going against each other in your teams so I expect you all to _work together..."_ he stressed, aiming it at a select few, "do your best, but most importantly, have a good time!"

He left it at that, feeling the students wanting to get back to their breakfast. Not to mention he was starving himself.

He left the boys to it, dragging Tim with him to get something to eat.

"So, Dan. What are we going to do about Rei? Not like he's really in a position to go hiking. Or any of this..." he groaned.

He'd tried asking Dan the same question when he told him he'd be coming, feeling bad that the poor kid wasn't really able to join in. He'd always brushed him off.

"Well, this afternoon he can help us out with judging and stuff!"

"Mmhmm...and what's he going to do for the next few hours while we're gone? Just sit here by himself?"

Dan stopped.

"Good point..." he said in fake consideration, despite already having a solution to help both Rei and himself.

He didn't want to go hiking.

"Well...I guess I could stay here and keep him company." he said innocently, "leave the troop in your more than capable hands!"

Tim's eye twitched. Of course he'd palm them all off on him.

"Maybe it should be the other way around...Wouldn't want to separate you from your golden boy." he muttered at him.

Dan frowned.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

Tim turned to him with a brow raised.

"...Really?"

Dan scrunched up his face defensively.

"Teachers don't have favorites. You know that."

"No." Tim grinned at his reaction, enjoying ruffling his feathers for a change, "Teachers aren't supposed to have favorites, but we all do." he said before he went back to the trays of food, "most of us just have the good sense to hide it..."

Dan's shoulders tensed.

"I care about all my kids. Just some need more than others. It's all part of the job."

Tim smirked.

"Uh huh...that wouldn't have anything to do with the rumour that you're trying to get out of your transfer, would it?"

Dan shot his head at him.

"Where'd you hear that?!"

Tim shrugged.

"Is it true?"

"Well..." he stuttered, "I just haven't decided which would be the better option for me is all..."

"Oh yeah, sure. Understandable..." he smirked harder.

Mr. Sparkly was full of shit. Not one sane person would turn down a position at Blue Ridge...especially not for a kid that was just 'part of the job'.

On the other hand, Mr. Sparkly's sanity was questionable at the best of times...

His smugness fell flat steadily over the course of breakfast, it becoming apparent he was the one that was going to be leading the hike, no matter what.

The force was strong in Mr. Sparkly...

After a little time to finish his coffee and let his food settle, he checked his watch and sighed.

If they were going to even try and stay on schedule, they'd have to take off.

He heaved himself off his seat and dragged his feet to the tables of chattering teenagers.

"All right boys! Ten minute warning! Clear your plates, get to the bathroom, grab your stuff and lets go! There are water bottles for each of you over there." he gestured.

Kai's sigh was drowned out by the shifting of bodies and clattering of plates.

Time to get this over with...

"Oh, Rei!" Mr. Simmon's voice called as he came over to them, "I'm really sorry, you're not really up for hiking..."

Rei wanted to laugh. As if he didn't know that.

"I know, Mr. Simmons. I guessed I was staying put."

Kai saw Scotty and Reuben walking back to the cabin, and took his opportunity.

"I could stay here with him, Mr. Simmons!" his voice cracked out hopefully.

Rei's eyes widened. He always knew it, but Kai was _brilliant_...

They'd be alone...in a cabin for many an hour. Completely undisturbed!

His teacher scoffed.

"Nice try, Kai. But Mr. Harris is going to be staying behind to keep him company. You do the hike with everyone else..."

The two fresh lovers exchanged glances in both disappointment and fear.

For Rei, he was going to be stuck alone for hours with Dan.

For Kai, he was going to be stuck alone for hours with those losers without him or Dan.

Mr. Simmons narrowed his eyes at him when he saw him yet to move.

"I suggest you go get a move on, Hiwatari!" he snapped.

Kai shot him a glare as he huffily stood up.

He was no longer his favorite teacher. Asshole.

He picked his and Rei's plates up, reluctantly leaving him to do as he was told.

On his way to drop them off, he met the game-show host grin.

"Heeeey! Ready for the hike?! Soooo sad I won't get to join you. That waterfall...I'm sure it's more beautiful than the last two times I've seen it..."

Kai's brow twitched as he glared hard.

Really?!

Dan 'the romancer' Harris. King of shoving him with Rei wherever he could...didn't come up with a grand plan to leave them alone in a cabin to get them together?!

The ONE TIME it he actually wanted him to pull one of his stunts, he wasn't going to?!

They could all jump off that waterfall.

He had no favorite teacher...

He grumbled under his breath and kept walking. He had no time to bite at him. He had a hike to mentally prepare for...

Nine minutes later, the group had gathered and was ready to take off.

For the most part...

"Have fun on your hike..." Rei said to him quietly.

"Yeh." he replied less than enthusiastically. "Have fun with _him_..."

Rei chuckled.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. Uh...take a picture of the fall for me?" he said as a small flush broke out across his nose.

"Oh. Sure...if you want."

" _Kai_!" Mr. Simmons called from the group impatiently.

He let out yet another sigh.

"Well...see you later?"

"Yeh..."

They stared at each other.

They were hardly going to hug or...kiss or anything in front of the others. But were they supposed to do something? Or say something?

"...KAI!"

They both jumped.

"See ya!" he spat out as he forced himself to quickly turn and walk off, making it a full seven steps before he threw a look over his shoulder.

Rei felt the love-sick puppy in him whine as he watched him getting smaller and join the others.

This sucked...

He stayed put until they all began to file out.

Watching the small herd of boys wandering off in to the trees, he replaced his sulking with a small smile.

Reuben had a spring in his step, his excitement for today no doubt only growing more powerful at the idea of 'bonding' time.

At least someone was enjoying this school trip.

He just hoped Kai would be nice for once...he couldn't have looked less excited if he'd tried.

Thank God Mr. Simmons was going to be with them. He wouldn't have the chance to hang the poor kid from a tree branch and wander off.

He sighed as his smile fell.

As well as the obvious reason of wanting to be with Kai, he loved a good morning hike...he wanted to see the waterfall, too.

Stupid ankle...

And what exactly was he going to do with himself while they were gone?

His smile vanished completely when a strong hand landed on his shoulder.

"Looks like it's just you and me, buddy!" Dan's bright voice burst in to his ear, "When the cats are away, the mice will play!" he chuckled, "What you wanna do?!"

Rei mentally pinched the bridge of his nose.

This was going to be a really long few hours...

* * *

Kai hung at the back of the line of classmates as his feet crunched through the leaves.

Which was a lot harder than he'd thought. These guys were sloooowww...

Could they not step it up a notch!? They may have only just left, but the faster they walked, the sooner they'd be back!

Reuben glanced over his shoulder, catching the sour face hanging behind.

Maybe he was lonely without Rei...

He could be the perfect replacement!

Stepping to the side, he waited for the few others to go by him and held back for Kai.

"Pretty forest, isn't it!? I've never been on a hike before! I feel like an explorer or something!" he laughed as he began to walk beside his less than impressed classmate.

"We're yet to come across the slightest bump. This is hardly a hike..." he bit.

Reuben shrugged.

"Not yet but...still out in the wild!"

"Hn..."

"My dad saw a bear once! Like a real one! Said it was enormous!"

"You don't say..."

Reuben beamed. He'd never talked to him this much before! He was on a roll!

"Yeh! You ever seen a bear?!"

"Yup."

"...Like, where? How big?"

Kai huffed and stayed quiet, hoping he'd get the hint to run along.

He didn't. He just decided to take another tactic.

Flattery.

"...I like your outfit today! I always did like those triangle things you do! I'd never be ballsy enough to do anything like that!"

"Thanks..."

"How did you come up with that? They're real cool! And the scarf and stuff! Makes you look badass!"

Kai cocked a brow. How far was he trying to get his nose up his ass?

"...Thanks?"

"You're real lucky you can pull that off! I know I couldn't, no matter how hard I-"

He couldn't finish the sentence, because something sticky hit his face.

"ARGH! SPIDER! SPIDER! GET IT OFF!" He flailed as he shrieked, echoing through the trees.

The entire line stopped and turned to watch the spectacle, Scotty rushing forward to help his fallen companion.

"Hold still, Reu! I can't see if there's actually a spider or if it's just the web!" he tried to calm.

The traumatised snowflake couldn't contain his fear, still flailing.

Kai rolled his eyes.

It was just a damn spider...

He roughly grabbed the front of his shirt and his chin to hold him still, his violet eyes staring hard at him, making him stop dead still.

"Just a web." he muttered, wiping it off for him and flicking it off on to the floor.

Reuben blinked.

He was the bravest son of a bitch he knew...

He froze again when he heard an eruption of snickering, feeling his skin getting hotter by the second as his eyes fell on all the others staring at him, amused at his stupidity.

"All right boys...show's over. Let's get walking!" Mr. Simmons shouted from the front.

Some laughter carried on as their feet started to move again.

But one mocking voice in particular carried.

"Pussy..."

Scotty and Kai glared in its general direction. There was only one person in that class that would say something like that.

"Don't listen to him Reu, you know what he's like..." Scotty said as he patted his shoulder, feeling him shrink in to himself.

"A complete asshole." Kai finished under his breath.

Reuben sighed.

He got on well with everyone, but this was not the first time, and probably not the last that he'd be at the butt of jokes for being such a, as Giles so nicely put it, pussy.

"Yeh...well...he's not wrong, is he..." he said sadly, embarrassed as he started to shift his own feet forward again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dan strolled over with one hand in his pocket, the other holding his second or third cup off coffee too his lips as he approached the only living soul in his surroundings.

"What'cha dooooin'?" he asked, already bored of his own company.

Rei stopped short, lost in his own world while had been peeling potatoes. Having a wonderful recap of the night before, his face flushed slightly until it vanished the second Dan was beside him. "Just keeping myself occupied while the others are out, you know. Making some sides for the barbecue."

Dan's eyes lit up as he sat himself down next to him. "Oh yeh?! What you making? Need any help?" he asked hopefully.

"Potato salad. And no. I'm good." He said almost bluntly, holding up the half shaven spud.

He didn't need the help, he always hated help in the kitchen.

Dan pouted a little.

So much for that...

He shook it off and plastered another grin. "You know what makes a real nice potato salad? Putting a little curry powder in it!"

"It really does." Rei responded as nicely as he could.

What was this? He didn't need the help, he knew what made a 'nice' potato salad. He'd been doing this long enough to know how to cook.

Dan's grin lost intensity at the less than chirpy sound to his voice.

Kai must have failed at making amends...the only logical explanation it.

"So..." he said while clearing his throat, "you having a good time? I know it isn't as fun when you can't join in so much."

"Yeah, no I've really liked being here, even if I can't do much. Beats being stuck at the school by myself." Rei answered him in his normal tone with a slight smile on his lips. Once more the night before coming to mind. He'd have had a lot more fun if the other two hadn't shown up when they did.

Dan nodded.

"Good...good..." he paused, taking a large swig of coffee.

"Any problems with the cabin? Like...the beds or...the inhabitants?" he pried, less than subtly.

"Bed's are a bit stiff, that's for sure." Rei chuckled. "And no?" He glanced over, briefly stopping again with the peeling. This potato was going to stay half naked if they kept talking like this.

Dan narrowed his eyes at him.

Maybe he'd missed the subtlety.

"So you and Kai were able to patch things up?" he asked, deciding to just come out with it.

At the question it felt like a spider had ran up Rei's back, going slightly stiff and fighting the blush. He could tell him about what happened, then again Kai would call things off in a heartbeat if he did that.

"Yeah, all good." his voice cracked out.

Dan's eyes narrowed more.

Since when was Rei all secretive and one-word-answery like Kai?!

He shook his head...he thought Rei was better than that.

"Glad to hear it..." he said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. He wanted the details...

"Give me an onion."

"I really got this Mr. Harris." Rei said, praying he'd get the hint and get out of his work space. It was already stuffy in there as it was, he didn't need the extra body in there.

Dan blinked. Did he not want him there?

"Oh..." he replied, the disappointment coming out stronger. "Yeh, sure...okay." he said as he stood himself up slowly, "Guess I'll just...go sit outside and wait..."

Rei lifted his head again, feeling guilty.

He did really like Dan, it was just...not in the kitchen. And not if he there was a chance he'd pry and make him crack about what happened between him and Kai.

"Well, I mean... You don't have to go out there. But I got this." Rei said quickly.

Dan's ass was back in the seat before he finished his sentence.

"Great! 'Cause I hate peeling! Oh! Want me to go get my iPod and have a little jam!?"

Rei smirked. If Dan was too busy singing, he wouldn't able to pry.

"Sure!"

Dan took back the negative thought about Rei he had a few moments ago and beamed, jumping up yet again.

"This is why I love ya, Rei! Always down to party!" he squealed as he bolted out the kitchen.

Rei breathed in a sigh of a relief, half tempted to lock the door just so he could get to work again and get it done before the others got back.

* * *

Just over an hour later, flushed and panting faces staggered.

To their relief, they heard the sound of crashing water.

Kai let out his own breath of relief. Finally, they'd made it to the stupid falls.

But holy crap, were these guys out of shape. He'd barely broken a sweat. When he thought of the word 'hike', there were usually some steep inclines involved. The route they'd taken had been near enough flat the entire way.

Stepping through another mass of trees, the boys let out some impressed 'ooooh's as the fall came in to view.

Once again, Kai wasn't overly impressed. It was pretty, yes. But he'd seen much better ones.

The boys sat themselves on the grass to rest a little, taking in the scenery and chatting among themselves.

Kai wandered over a little closer to the fall, getting his phone out to take a picture for Rei.

Scotty clocked him from his spot beside Reuben, still silent after getting laughed at.

"Hey, that's not a bad idea! Let's get some pictures, huh?" he asked in an attempt to get his friend back in the groove.

Reuben nodded, forcing his tired legs to get up and follow.

With a few angle changes, Kai checked through the ones he'd shot, finally satisfied he had something decent to show him later.

"Yo, teammate!"

He shuddered and turned to them with a blank expression, watching Scotty get his phone out and follow suit.

"Nice place, huh?"

"Mmhmm..."

Scotty smirked. He had an idea to pep up Reu and annoy Kai at the same time.

"Hey, I know! Let's take a team selfie!"

Kai shuddered again.

Oh, hell no...

"I'm good, thanks..." he told him bluntly.

Scotty's smirk grew wider.

"Aw, come on! Just a silly momento from a fun school trip, huh?" he said as he nodded dramatically in Reu's direction.

Kai tensed, catching his drift but wondering why the hell he had to be dragged in to it.

He may not be soft and squishy, but he wasn't a total dick.

And he did feel bad for the kid...

He sighed.

"Urgh, fine. But just one! And no posting it online!"

Scotty made a patronising face.

"Wouldn't dream of it..."

Reuben visibly lit up, shifting around Scotty to get in front of the phone.

His friend's smirk turned to a small smile as he opened his camera ap, flipping it to selfie mode and moving to Reu's side.

He lifted it to get them all in, the fall behind them.

"All right, ready? Say cheese!"

He and Reuben threw out toothy grins, while Kai stayed deadpan.

Scotty huffed, catching it on the screen.

"Dude! Come on!"

Kai huffed back. Why the hell was he doing this again?!

Scotty put his grin back on, Reuben's face starting to strain from holding his this long.

He finally caved and gave them the smallest smile he could muster.

Scotty figured that was as good as they were going to get and hit the button, the sound of the shutter going off.

"Let me see it!" Reu begged immediately.

Scotty obliged, bringing his hand down to get the shot up.

His friend's eyes beamed. This one was going on his bedroom wall!

"It's perfect! Kai, you wanna see?"

He let out another deep sigh.

He never wanted to see that picture as long as he lived.

 _Team selfie_...pff...

He didn't even have one of those with Tyson and the others.

"I'm good, thanks..."

* * *

Rei scrubbed his hands, trying to get the smell of onion and garlic out from while Dan continued to rock out to...whatever this was.

He glanced up at the clock. They'd been gone almost three hours now.

"So...when are they due back?" he asked innocently.

Dan stopped mid riff on his air-guitar, doing the same and looking up at the clock.

"Should be soon! Crap, I'd better fire up the barbie I guess!" he said in a terrible Australian accent.

Rei's chest fluttered. _Finally_...

"I'll come give you a hand!"

Dan let out a slight laugh as he lifted his hand.

The lighting of the coals was, and always had been, the _man's_ job.

Rei was still but a youngling.

"You're good, Rei. I've got it." he waved off, using Rei's own line against him as he dragged himself out, feeling his time to shine coming.

Rei shook his head, grabbing his crutches and following him out. Dan was good enough to respect his kitchen space, he'd pay it back with giving Dan his grill space.

He sat on a log close to Dan, anxiously looking around and waiting for signs of their return.

* * *

While he'd lagged behind on the way there, on the way back, Kai overtook Mr. Simmons, walking as fast as he could without breaking in to a run.

Reuben had tried to keep up, taking his haste to get back as him being excited for the afternoon. Despite being horribly wrong, it was rubbing off on him, feeling the embarrassment from earlier slipping to the back of his mind.

His stamina, however, hadn't rubbed off. Causing him to slow down and let the mighty stallion go free before them.

Mr. Simmons panted a little.

"Kai! I'm supposed to be leading! I'm the one with the map here!" he called ahead to him.

Kai turned.

"...You mean, for the straight path going back the way we came?" he answered sarcastically.

His teacher narrowed his eyes.

"Even so, slow it down! This is supposed to be a group hike!"

Kai scoffed again at the word 'hike', but made himself slow down reluctantly.

At this rate, it would be dark by the time they got back...

Thankfully, his annoyance was wildly exaggerated. The smell of charcoal burning hitting them a mere twenty minutes later.

The worst part was finally over.

Kind of...

But at least now he could sort of hang out with Rei.

Exiting through the mass of trees, the campsite came in to view.

A little further and so did Dan and Rei. Making him pick up his pace again.

With an oh-so satisfying sizzle, Dan added another load of burger patties on to the large grill. Feeling manly as all hell.

Nothing set the testosterone flowing like being the master of a grill.

Rei's head lifted to see the small herd of boys returning from their adventures, feeling his chest flutter at the sight of a grey t-shirt coming towards him.

Yes! He was back!

He'd get to feed him with all the stuff he made!

The smell hitting them, the other boys picked up their pace as well. The strenuous hike leaving them all starving.

Dan waved them over.

"Grub's up boys! Help yourselves! Rei here prepared enough to feed an army!"

Rei blushed when suddenly the whole group gave him a round of grateful applause.

When it died down, they went to lining up again with plates.

Kai, however, wasn't in a rush just yet.

He made eye contact with Rei, gravitating towards him the same way his famished classmates gravitated too the grill.

"Hey!" Rei beamed, "How was it?"

"Was all right..." he shrugged before pausing and looking over his shoulder to check the coast was clear, "would have been a lot better if you were there. I think you'd have liked it..."

As he cringed at the sappiness, Rei bit back the girlish squeal in his head.

"Maybe we can do it again sometime...when my ankle is better." he suggested, voice cracking in places.

"Yeh...sure..." he flushed back in response, grabbing his phone and yanking it out his pocket.

"This is the fall. Hope the picture is all right!" he stuttered as he shoved the phone at him.

Rei blinked at the bright object suddenly in front of his face and took it to give it a good look.

"Oh wow, that's really nice!"

Suddenly, neither of them really knew what to say to each other.

"You uh...you eat? I could go and get you something."

Rei smiled and shook his head at him.

"There's kind of a traffic jam over there, why don't you come sit for a minute. Let the rush die down."

He nodded, following Rei back to the log a few steps back and sitting with him.

"Thanks for making stuff for everyone..." he said awkwardly after a few more moments of quiet.

That didn't sound like him at all.

"Heh, no problem. Not like I had anything better to do..."

"Ah, right...did he behave himself?" he asked as he nodded in Dan's direction.

Rei chuckled.

"He tried to help me in the kitchen..."

"Oooh...rookie mistake..."

"It's fine, I think he got the message. Was a good boy and spent the rest of the time enjoy his own little musical bubble while I worked."

Kai snorted. That sounded about right.

Rei turned his head to him and arched a brow.

"Were you nice?" he asked almost accusingly.

Kai tensed. Now why would he ask something like that?

"I was fine..."

Rei gave a fanged smirk, no one came back glaring at him, so he figured he couldn't have been that bad.

His eyes went back to the line for the food. Scotty and Reuben getting in and loading up.

He really wished Kai would lighten up around those two. They really were good guys, and interesting.

Reuben stood a little shorted among the rest of them. His mousy blonde hair bouncing a little as he excitedly talked at a patient Scotty.

Reuben must have felt him looking, shifting his gaze over to them and giving them a big grin and a wave.

Rei laughed and waved back.

Bless...Rei had a soft spot for Reu since the first time he'd met him.

He had such an endearing personality. He was pure, innocent, kind and sometimes hilarious without even meaning to be.

Or sometimes he'd throw out a line that wasn't so innocent. Like a curveball that you wouldn't expect to come from him, which just made it funnier.

But there was something about Reu he couldn't put his finger on.

He _really_ reminded him of someone.

He thought it was Max. Especially after the sugar incident yesterday.

But that wasn't it...

"You know...Reuben reminds me of someone, but I can't think for the life of me who it is..." Rei mused out loud.

Kai froze, feeling a horrible sensation down his spine.

Yeh...Reuben reminded him of someone, too.

Had done since they'd met at the beginning of the year.

He'd just chosen to ignore it.

And ignore him, too.

So to keep up the tradition, he was going to ignore that comment as well.

"Hn...line's died down. I'll go get us something..."

A few minutes later, he came back to a more crowded log as the other two had come to join them.

He held in his sigh, handing Rei a plate.

The alone time with him was nice while it had lasted...

At least he got to refill on Rei's life altering food.

God, he was good in the kitchen...

And naturally, he wasn't the only one who thought so.

"This is amazing, Rei!" Reuben praised once again after swallowing another mouthful of potato salad.

Rei grinned, feeling proud of himself.

"Glad you like it. Should be plenty more if you want some!"

Reuben shook his head.

"Better not! Don't want to overdo it before this afternoon! Need to be on top form!"

Before Rei could reply, a nasty chuckle met their ears.

"You? Top form? Ah, dude...a spiders web took you out!"

The four of them turned their head to see a familiar asshole strolling by.

"Oh, get lost will you, Giles?" Scotty bit angrily.

Giles smirk stayed put.

"I wasn't intending on staying around you losers, just passing by and heard something ridiculous..."

Kai saw Reuben shrink in to himself again and shot Giles a fiery look back.

"Suggest you keep walking then..."

Giles raised a brow at him, but decided not to respond to him. Instead, he turned his attention back to Reuben.

"Lucky you have your little bodyguards with you, huh?"

Kai looked back at Reuben, willing him to say something back to him. Anything.

The mousy haired boy stayed quiet and stared at his feet.

Rei frowned harder, resisting the urge to get up and end him with a punch, and instead finally deciding to make use of his teacher privileges.

"Unless you want to spend the next month in detention, I'd do what Kai said and keep moving..." he said sternly.

Giles scoffed at him. As if he was threatened by the boy playing teacher. But after what happened the last time he said something about him in front of Kai, he thought better of it.

"Pff, whatever. Can't wait to see you on 'top form', Reu..." he spat sarcastically as he went on his way.

As he disappeared, both Rei and Scotty gave their sensitive little buddy a sympathetic look as they saw his eyes welling up a little.

"Seriously, he's just a dick...he wants this reaction from you. Don't give it to him..."

"Scotty's right, Reu. Don't listen to him...you guys just go out there and have some fun, all right?"

Reuben shook his head.

"You know, I think I ate too much...stomach hurts...might just sit the first one out, if that's cool." he said as he stood himself up, bolting off towards the cabin with his head down.

They watched after him and sighed.

"I'll go get him in a little while. Let him calm down." Scotty waved off, this not being the first time he'd seen him get upset.

Rei nodded. Was probably better to give him a little space.

Kai on the other hand, couldn't stop watching him.

Like always, the universe had impeccable timing.

Rei made that comment about him reminding him of someone, making it fresh in his mind.

Reuben may not have idolized him in the same way he had, but he felt the unwanted sense of admiration there.

Not to mention the ongoing determination to be friendly with him.

The constant effort. Trying to talk to him.

Just like he had...

And just like with him, he'd shot him down again and again.

He went behind his back. Broke his trust. At the time, he hadn't felt right giving him what he'd asked for.

But if he'd just helped the guy out...things wouldn't have gone the way they did.

His chest clenched. Just like every time the long list of mistakes he'd ever made that liked to pop up and remind him of what he'd done, and the people he'd hurt from them, the guilt came flooding back.

This wasn't the same situation at all.

Wasn't the same person.

But somehow, it felt like a repeat. And this time, he didn't want to make the same mistake.

Silently, he pushed himself up from the log and wandered towards the cabin. Leaving Rei and Scotty behind watching after him.

He didn't bother knocking, letting himself in to the cabin.

Sure enough, the mousy kid sat up, startled on his bed and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands.

He stayed motionless as his quiet, muscular classmate walked in and stood in front of him.

"...Uh...Hi?"

Kai's eyes got thinner as he wordlessly grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, pulling and dragging him to the bathroom.

Reuben skittishly followed, fearing for his life.

What was this?! Was he going to drown him in the bathtub?

Stick his head in the toilet and flush!?

He wasn't like that, was he?!

He watched as Kai unzipped his toiletry bag, quickly turning back to him with his piercing eyes and grabbing his face for the second time that day.

"You should never show people they've gotten to you." he said bluntly, letting go for a second to dip a brush in to a blue pot.

Reuben's eyes widened, but remained a little too stunned to answer.

Kai's hand went back to his chin, holding him still as he lifted the brush to his cheek.

"And you should always stand up for yourself. It doesn't matter if the other person can bite harder than you, if you don't at least try and bite back, you're the only one who's left with a mark and the other prick walks away unscathed."

Reuben stayed completely still.

"...Why are you telling me this...?"

Kai stopped for a second, eyes boring in to him.

"Because that's twice today you've let Giles get to you! And not once did you throw anything back! You let Scotty jump in to protect you! Square your damn shoulders and tell him to go fuck himself!"

Reuben rolled his eyes irritably.

"Oh yeh, like that would do any good! If anything, it'd just make him laugh harder!"

"Let him laugh! He's an asshole! But at least it'll show him you have some spine!" he scolded while letting his hand move the brush against his cheek.

Reuben blinked again.

"But I don't have a spine..." he laughed awkwardly.

Kai scoffed.

"That's bullshit. I seem to remember you giving me a piece of your mind once!"

He frowned. He'd never done that..

"When?!"

Kai stopped again.

"That stupid trust thing Harris made us do, remember? I wouldn't fall on you, and you weren't having it!"

He thought back.

Oh yeh, that's right! Was hardly 'giving him a piece of his mind' though...he'd just been frustrated.

"That wasn't..."

Kai smirked at him and cut him off.

"Shut me up and got me to do it though, didn't it?"

Reuben's shoulder's moved.

Yeh...he guessed he had...

"I appreciate what you're trying to say, Kai...but mean or not, he's right. I am a little wus..." he said sadly as the brush continued to tickle his cheeks.

"Yeh. 'Cause like I said, you let people push you around! Have some respect for yourself!" he scolded again as he looked over his handy work and stepped aside, shoving him in front of the mirror.

The pair of them instantly thought the same thing.

He looked kind of weird with them...

Reuben stared at himself for a minute before he let out another awkward chuckle.

"Told you I wouldn't be able to rock these..."

He was surprised when he got a slight chuckle back.

"Neither can I, really. Just got to own them..."

Reuben looked at him via the mirror.

"...So why did you put them on me exactly?"

Kai raised a brow at himself.

He wasn't entirely sure either. Just a spur of the moment thing...

"Because if you wimp out and don't get out there, Giles has won and knows he can get to you. You can't let him have that power over you. Get your war paint on, get out there and show him you don't go down without a fight!"

He cringed inwardly.

...That was so cheesy...

Luckily for him, it was working.

Reuben touched around the paint on his cheeks.

Kai was right.

Why should he let Giles get to him like that? Why would he prove him right by sitting on the sidelines?

...Why was Kai talking to him and painting his face!? Holy shit, this was awesome!

But then another question hit him.

One that turned his glee in to one that was more pissed off.

He spun around to him.

"Why now, Kai?!" he raised his voice with a frown on his face and a sudden fire in his belly, "Why are you suddenly being like this when for months I was barely worth acknowledging?! Why should I take advice not to let someone be a dick to me, from someone who's been a dick to me!?"

Kai's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that.

That...backfired.

After a few moments of letting the shock settle and the words sink in, he knew it was deserved. He had a very valid point.

"I know..." he started, their former positions having reversed.

He shrunk down while Reuben had grown taller.

"I...I don't really know what to tell you..." he lied, "I'm just not really a people person, I guess...not much of an excuse but...if it's worth anything, I'm sorry."

Reuben's frown lifted at the apology. He'd never seen him look quite like that before.

"Yeh...I mean...it's fine." he shrugged off, but feeling himself celebrating on the inside.

Maybe he had a point. About this whole standing up for yourself thing.

Kai nodded, wanting this awkward encounter he'd brought on himself to end.

"So...you gonna come back?"

Reuben paused before giving his own strong nod.

"Yeh...let's go kick some ass!" he exclaimed as he started to walk out the bathroom, pumped.

Kai panicked.

"Uh...Reuben!? Aren't you gonna wash that off first?!"

Reuben turned to him.

"Oh...can't I keep it on?"

Kai blinked.

Could he...could he say no?

Reuben's eyes lit up.

"Hey! I know! We should get Scotty and Rei to do theirs too! Make it like a team thing! Strike fear in to our enemies!"

Kai's blood ran cold.

That would be the stupidest, lamest...

Oh god, he was out the door.

"REU!" he called out as he went after him.

Ooohhh shit, he was fast when he was riled up...

Reuben ran, all ass and elbows.

Kai let out a panicked whimper.

His trademark...his beautiful trademark!

And since when could Reuben run this fast?!

Scotty frowned, seeing what looked like his buddy running towards them. Kai not far behind.

His frown deepened as he got even closer.

The fu...

"Hey guys! Look at this!" he beamed, showing off his blue cheeks.

Both Scotty and Rei stared.

The trendsetter arrived mere seconds after him. Looking horrified.

It didn't take long for Rei to figure out the gist of what just happened.

He pursed his lips to try not to smile too hard.

"Lookin' good, Reu!" he complimented.

"Thanks! But you haven't heard our idea yet! We should all do it! You know, like a team thing!"

Rei lifted a quizzical brow at Kai, who was shaking his head furiously.

 _Our_ idea?!

Scotty's jaw stayed dropped for a second longer before he began to nod.

Kai had managed to pep him up?

He even bothered to try?

Well damn, looked like Rei was telling the truth. There was a nice guy under a thick layer of jerk.

He shrugged, letting his amused grin crack.

All of them dolled up in war paint. Eye of the tiger.

Why the hell not?

"Sure! I'll do it!"

Kai groaned.

No, no, no...they weren't going to make a mockery of his thing.

Rei's fanged grin joined him.

He didn't believe for a second this was Kai's idea. But he wanted to see it happen.

"Yeh, me too! Why not?"

Kai gave him a betrayed look as he stood, holding it as he came closer to him.

"We'd better hurry up. Don't have too much longer til the end of lunch."

Just like that, three bodies walked by Kai and back towards the cabin.

He turned around and watched them walking, staying put stubbornly.

Rei glanced over his shoulder, flashing him a grin and waving for him to come.

His frown vanished for a moment, before letting out a slight growl.

Damnit...

His feet moved back towards the cabin.

Ten minutes later, the bathroom door opened, Scotty jumping out to show off his shark fins.

Reuben clapped.

This was awesome!

Rei held in a laugh. This was both ridiculous and great at the same time.

His stomach bubbled.

He was next.

Kai's sour expression made an appearance in the doorway and nodded for him to come in.

Aww...

Maybe he didn't want them to make a mockery of his look...

The other two watched him go in before getting their phones out to take more selfies.

As the door closed, Rei quietly locked it.

"Hey..."

"Hey."

Rei tilted his head.

"Why'd you paint Reu?" he asked quietly with a chuckle.

Kai huffed.

"I don't know! He said he liked the paint earlier and gave me the whole 'I could never do that' crap..." he said as he quietly mimicked his squeakier voice, "then got all messed up over Giles, so I thought I'd paint them on him and tell him to sack up! I didn't think he'd keep it on!" he hissed out, trying to keep his volume down.

Rei let out a fanged smile at his pissed, defensive expression.

Though his description of what happened sounded like a standard Kai Hiwatari dish of tough love, the way Reuben was fired up and back to himself told him there had been a little more to it.

He felt a swell of pride.

Through the years, he'd known it. But moments like this always got him.

His sourpuss was a really good guy...

He slowly stepped up to him, placing his hands gently on his chest.

Kai's heart rate became rapid as his throat dried.

"That was really nice thing to do..." he whispered sincerely, leaning in, placing his lips gently on his.

Kai's body felt lighter as he melted in to it, unintentionally leaning further in to him like his body forgot how to stay upright.

They pulled their lips apart slowly, letting their eyes pierce each other for a moment before they went back at it with more intensity.

Flashes of WikiHow came back to him, moving his fingers up to brush through his hair as he pressed his lips against his a little harder.

Rei breathed harder in to it, snaking his arms up around his neck to pull them closer together.

As the kiss got deeper, he pushed in to Kai, making him take a step back.

His back pushed the toiletry bag balancing on the side of the sink to fall off, clattering to the tiled floor.

They both jumped out their skin and froze.

Right on cue...

" _You guy's all right in there?"_ came through the door.

" _ **We're fine!"**_ the two voices yelled back.

" _Well hurry up! We have to be back in ten!"_

They both looked at each other, still holding each other and let out frustrated sighs.

This god damn school trip...

They unwillingly unraveled themselves from each other and got to work, trying to avoid eye contact to avoid any more distractions.

Applying the blue paint to his face gave the red a chance to drain from them both.

He stood back and looked over him.

It was weird to see Rei with his triangles...

It was weird to see any of them with them, but Rei especially.

"How do I look?" Rei asked with a smirk.

Once again he mirrored his smirk back.

"Weirdly good..."

Rei's eyes got brighter as he stood himself up to look in the mirror and snorted.

He looked ridiculous. But he was fine with it.

"You hate that we're doing this, don't you?" he chuckled.

Kai tilted his head.

Rei turned around to face him.

"Don't worry, they're not going to steal it." he reassured.

There was a loud knock at the door.

" _You guys nearly done!? We're going to be late!"_

They gave each other another look and forced themselves begrudgingly to the door.

When it opened, Scotty and Reuben were stood waiting.

They both let out a deep laugh.

"Lookin' good, Rei!"

"Same to you guys..." he laughed back.

"Well...ready to go give 'em hell?"

Rei shrugged.

"You guys can. I'm more of a cheerleader..." he smirked as he tapped his crutches.

"Still a valuable member." Scotty complimented, "Do we need a team name too? Really hammer all this in?"

"Got any ideas?" Rei asked, amused.

Scotty and Reuben looked around.

At spotting his friend's superhero PJ's on the floor, he spun back round to them grinning.

"The Nerd Herd!"

While Reuben and Rei laughed, Kai didn't look as amused.

Rei caught it, laughing harder at remembering how upset he got when he called him a dork in the park with Dan and Charlotte. Before the whole elevator fiasco.

"Oh, just accept it Kai, you're a big old nerd like us!"

Kai's face got flustered.

"I am _not_!" he protested angrily.

Scotty let out a snort.

"Dude, please...you're an orchestra geek, a choir geek, huge history geek and in to Sherlock Holmes..."

Kai looked outraged.

And he'd wasted his _paint_ on him...

Reuben let out a chuckle.

"It's all right, Kai! All of us are! That's why we're going to be the best team class 1-4 has to offer!" he said excitedly, "Nerds of a feather flock together!"

Scotty let out a sharp "Pa!"

"That was pretty good, Reu! You come up with that off the top of your head?"

Reu grinned.

"I did!"

They made their way to the door of the cabin, leaving Kai stood a little dumbstruck.

What was happening?

This is what he got for trying to be nice?!

" _Kai?"_

Rei's voice shook him out of it, making his feet move towards the door with a scowl.

...With all this hype, those two dorks had better bring _their_ A-game.

He had a reputation to keep up...

"Nerd...how fuckin' dare they..." he grumbled gruffly as he stormed out the door.

* * *

End of Chapter!

I hope you enjoyed it! I'll try and get the next part up as soon as I can!

Would love to know what you guys think!

See you next time, take care! :)


	22. Mud On Your Face, Big Disgrace

Hey everyone!

Finally, I've managed to get a chapter together for you all! I'm really sorry it has taken so long! I think this has been the biggest gap between chapters since I started writing it.

I know I say it basically every time, but life really has been a bit of a dick recently, and as such I just haven't had the time, motivation or if I got a chance to write, I ended up just staring blankly at the computer screen.

My apologies.

On that note, if anyone reading this also happens to be reading any of my other stories, updates are on the way! Work has been done on all of them, it's just a case of getting around to finishing them! Bare with me a little longer!

As always, a huge thank you to you, my wonderful readers. And especially those of you who took the time to leave a comment! I really do appreciate it more than you imagine.

Anywho, here's the chapter! I did struggle with this one since I wanted to do a lot of things without killing you all with 40 page chapter. For that reason, some parts are a little glossed over, but I'm sure your imaginations can fill you in!

Without further ado, here we go!

* * *

Chapter 22 – Mud On Your Face, Big Disgrace.

Reuben walked with something he'd never walked with before. A _strut_.

For once, Scotty was behind him, stupid Tyson-style grin on his face at how stupid this situation was.

It was a silly team-building outing. Probably a desperate attempt by the school to make sure the less than active, pale boys got a dose of fresh air.

But somewhere along the way, his mousy friend had found the eye of the tiger, mind set on leading the squad of blue-faced warriors to victory of the St. Tristan's First Grade Camp Challenge.

Rei hobbled to the side, looking forward to seeing what was going to happen, while Kai lagged a little behind wearing a scowl. He still wasn't over being called a nerd.

Or the fact that _these_ frickin' nerds were in his signature paint.

Oh god...when the others saw them rock up...they were going to be a laughing stock.

OH GOD...Dan was probably going to lose his mind over it.

He cringed and felt his overall annoyance at life build. This damn school trip needed to end so he could just go back to his room with Rei and-

"Ooooooh, what do we have here?" a familiar, smarmy and dickish voice rang, pulling him out of what was about to be a glorious train of thought and pissing him off even more.

Reuben tensed as the four of them came to a stop.

Of course _he_ would be the first person they ran in to.

They all observed Giles' smug brow raising higher as he looked them over, taking in the blue faces while his own 'team mates' sat a little behind talking among themselves.

"Way to pick your role model there guys...two losers and a cripple aspiring to be a bigger, more athletic loser..."

Reuben narrowed his eyes, despite feeling the uncomfortable sensation in his stomach that made him want to shut down.

For years he'd put up with Giles' taunts. Having to suffer through attending the same schools as him since elementary school, as well as the misfortune of their families knowing each other.

For years he'd held on to one weapon he'd always wanted to throw at him. But it was a mean one...He never could bring himself to use it.

Kai was right though, he had to fight back.

"Least we're not complete disappointments to _our_ role model..." he bit back.

Giles tensed instantly, giving him a look that dared him to continue.

Scotty and Rei threw him a glance, wondering what he meant.

Kai, on the other hand, couldn't hold in a slightly evil smirk. He had a feeling he knew what he was getting at after his own encounter in the principle's office a while back.

Damn, Reu...didn't know you had it in you.

Reuben dug deep. He was probably going to hell for this.

"Y-your dad acknowledge your existence recently!?" he fired out in a high-pitched screech, feeling his heart double, then triple in speed.

There was a chilly silence and stillness the moment that left his mouth.

Giles' eyes widened before they burned. This was a first.

"You sure you want to start this with me?" he threatened with a growl as he stepped closer to him in a way Kai didn't like. Especially when he could smell the fear already dripping out Reuben's pores.

He'd done well. But it was his first rodeo.

He snaked his way around his smaller classmate and put himself between them.

"If you want to live long enough to try and win daddy's love, you'll turn around and start walking..." he warned.

Giles' let out a small grin. Someone he had ammunition for.

"Oooh, such aggression. That new shrink of yours not dealt with that yet?"

To his dismay, he got a wide smirk back.

"Hasn't had chance yet. Too busy helping me quieten the voices telling me to skin you in your sleep..." he said smoothly as he took a step forward, making Giles take a step back.

"So far nothing is working..." he added with a husky chill.

Giles stuttered, turning his attention to the others.

"You hearing this? And this is who you want to like you so bad? He's a fucking psycho!"

Scotty and Reuben blinked.

Had it been Giles that wrote that on Kai's picture a few weeks back?

Seemed like the type of asshole thing he would do...

But it raised the question of, why?

Suddenly, things started to make sense.

The absences from class.

The attention he got from Mr. Harris.

...His personality in general.

Was Giles just being an asshole? Or was there truth behind it?

While their minds pondered, it was Rei's turn to let out a growl. _**No one**_ talked about his boyfriend like that.

...Holy shit, that's right! They were boyfriends now!

 _Awesome_!

He shook the internal butterflies out and went back to growling. The last thing they needed was a full on scene, but he wouldn't let anyone talk to him like that.

"We heard him." he all but hissed, "if I were you, I'd open your own ears and take his warning seriously, if you want to keep your skin that is. Trust me. He's not one to bluff."

The fire in Kai's eyes flickered even more as he fought to keep his stronger composure and not let on his stomach had flipped.

Ah, Rei knew him so well...

Giles' eyes faltered as they went to Rei and dared to go back to his rival classmate. The smug yet evil glare had only grown more intense.

He squared his shoulders.

"Pff, he doesn't scare me..." he grumbled in a low voice.

Kai immediately took a stomp forward, letting a quiet chuckle escape his throat as he saw him flinch hard.

He wanted to fuck with him more. But he knew he'd rather just humiliate him by kicking his ass in whatever stupid sports they were about to do without so much as getting out of breath.

He looked over Giles' shoulder.

"Hey. Where's your team?"

Giles scowled as he snapped his head around to look at the now empty log and frowned.

They were just there...where the hell did those morons go?!

"Hn...well, don't you just keep on making impressions wherever you go..."

Giles' scowl came back, mind scrambling for a comeback.

Kai waited. The time limit for a good burn passing by.

"You stay here and keep mulling it over. Don't worry, take your time. No one misses you..." he said dryly as he stuck his hands in his pocket, moving around him to keep walking.

Enjoying the royally pissed look on his face, Reuben struggled to lock down the sense of victory, and the huge urge to shout 'BOO-YAH!' in his _ugly-ass_ face.

Instead, he smugly took Kai's lead and walked after him with a bigger stride to his step than before, Scotty and Rei walking/hobbling behind.

With his three temporary teammates marching behind him, they carried on down the pathway back to the wooden tables where they were to all meet up.

In light of the annoying ugliness, Kai had forgotten about something crucial.

As soon as his fellow classmates came in to sight, he was met with confused glances followed by arm taps, points and snickers that made his blood temperature drop significantly.

Ohhhhhhh shit, that's right. The group face-paint...

Kai internally sunk in to himself as the giggling grew, wishing the floor would open and swallow him whole.

"Hey, I didn't know the Blue Man Group went to our school!" someone heckled.

"Quiet, Alex. You know you're just jelly..." Scotty answered in a forced, camp voice that rubbed Kai the wrong way.

What was this asshole saying about his badass paint!?

Alex rolled his eyes.

"Oh yes...I'm just _green_ with envy...aren't we both colorful...but seriously, what's with the makeup?"

Kai's eye twitched as he choked.

MAKEUP!?

Scotty slapped Kai's back.

"We're taking after our wise and mighty leader. Striking fear in to our enemies! Preparing for a battle that will echo through the ages! Aint that right, Kai?"

Kai turned his head slowly, the cogs in his mind sticking and staying still for a moment.

How dare they mock of his signature look...

How dare he touch him!?

" _WHOOOOAAAA! WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE!?"_

The cogs started moving, jolting in to overdrive as his brain processed and recognised the owner of that voice.

Oh good.

Dan. Frickin'. Harris.

He looked over to see the man of mayhem bounding over with his familiar shit-eating grin.

The other three stood themselves straight, showing their faces off with pride while Kai folded his arms and averted his eyes from him.

Their teacher stopped in front of them, putting his hands firmly on his hips as his grey eyes looked them over with a weird, overly beaming sense of enjoyment on his face.

This. Was. Awesome!

His little Fireball was making friends?! Like actually!? To the point where they were gonna do a group thing?!

He knew he'd made the right call putting him with Scotty and Reu.

God, he was an exceptional teacher!

And it looked like he'd made up with Rei! They must have patched things up if he was dolling him up in...whatever the hell the blue stuff was meant to be!

He'd always wondered about that...he'd make a mental note to ask him what was up with it later.

But right now, he had a slight scene to make.

"You guys look great! Can I take a picture?!" he asked as he whipped out his phone.

"Sure!"

"NO!"

Dan let out a smirk.

"Three against one, sorry Kai!" he cooed as he held up the phone to get them all in the shot, "Say cheeessse!"

Hell no.

Scotty was already in possession of a...urgh... _team selfie_ from the waterfall.

He turned his back quickly.

This was sacrilege! This was too far! This was a point beyond the line he refused to step! This was-

"Aw, come on Kai. Please?" amber eyes pleaded as they leaned back, forcing him to make eye-contact with him.

Like a magnet had been implanted in his irises, they were drawn to his.

No! He had to stay strong! He had to resist! If anything, his face-paint represented the height of manliness! And men didn't back down!

Rei let out a pleading huff to join his pleading eyes at the sight of that stubborn look he knew all too well.

"Please?"

The magnetic pull dragged him back to…those beautiful, mesmerising eyes that sat above a nose, which sat above a mouth that he would probably get to make out with later, especially if he was a good boy.

He rolled his eyes.

"Fine. But only one! And it's not for Facebook!" he bit as he turned back around, folding his arms again in a pout.

"That shit is trademark..." he huffed to himself.

Scotty jumped on the opportunity, throwing his arms around both Kai and Reuben to pull them in, the smaller one putting a gently hand on Rei's back and painting their own broad grins across their painted faces that mimicked Dan's.

This was beautiful! He couldn't wait to send this to Charlotte!

Kai's arms tightened across his chest and eyes fell closed in time for the sound of the shutter to go off.

"Oh noo! It's blurry!" Dan lied, "One more! One more!"

"Mr. Harris!?" a voice called before Kai could shut him down.

Dan held in a tut and turned around.

Mr. Simmons stood several meters away tapping his watch.

He sighed. He liked Tim, but my god he was a wet blanket.

"Alright, coming..." he sighed as he shoved his phone in his pocket again, turning back around to grin at his blue boys again.

"Loving the comradery, boys!" he winked at them, "That's what this trip is all about!" he beamed proudly as he turned on his heel, leaving them to it.

Kai narrowed his eyes as he watched him go. Watching him fiddling with his phone before looking back over his shoulder at him and giving him another grin.

This day needed to end. Quickly.

About ten minutes later, the two teachers called out for them all to gather.

Mr. Harris dropped the cardboard box on the floor with a thud, standing himself up tall and placing his hands on his hips with a grin.

"Gather round, boys!" he called as the four teams sauntered their way over.

Once he did a headcount, he put on his talk-show host smile.

"All righty! We're going to start the afternoon off with a little game of CAPTURE THE FLAG!" he exclaimed dramatically, only to be met with blank stares.

At the sound of crickets, Dan fought a look of dismay. He bet if he'd have said they were going to have a game of chess they'd all react...

"...Show of hands. Who here is familiar with this game?"

They all looked around each other. One tanned hand slowly raising.

Dan smiled. Of course Rei would know it.

Shame his ankle was busted.

"Great! Do you want to help explain the rules?" he pawned off as the boys turned their heads in unison to him.

Rei felt himself sink at the sudden multitude of eyes on him.

"Oh...sure. It's simple really. There are two teams, each team gets a color and armbands with that color. The opposing team takes the other's flag and hides it in their area. The goal is to make your way through the opposite team's area and get your flag back to your base. If you get tagged, you go to 'jail'. You can only get out of jail if another team mate comes and tags you out of it. Whoever gets their flag back first, or gets all the opposite team members in jail wins."

He sunk a little more as the blank stares continued.

"Exactly!"Dan burst out brightly, "Couldn't have put it better myself! Since there are four teams, we'll be having two games going at the same time! The winners of each game gets an advantage in the next challenge!" he told them with another dramatic voice that once again seemed to go unnoticed...or unappreciated.

He rolled his eyes yet again. Stupid teenagers...

Sorry it wasn't _Quidditch._...

"All right, one member from each team come draw a color!" he instructed, keeping his cheery voice.

Scotty tapped Reuben's shoulder.

"Want to do the honors?"

Reuben nodded furiously, bolting to the front with three other boys.

Dan gave him a smile and held the bag out to him first to pick one out.

He closed his eyes and rummaged in the bag, peeling one eye open slowly as he pulled his hand out holding the fabric.

His eyes snapped open.

He grinned and turned to his fellow squad.

"We got blue!" he exclaimed excitedly, gaining a few snickers from his surrounding classmates as he held it up, a thumbs up from Scotty, and a face-palm from Kai.

Dan chuckled, handing the bag out to the others to decide who was what so they could get this going.

With the team colors decided, now they got to choose who was going against who.

Once again, Dan held yet another bag containing the all important flags to Mr. Simmons to draw.

The more serious teacher rummaged in the bag.

"Red vs...green!" he exclaimed as he held up the two flags, "which leaves blue vs yellow!"

Both Dan and the members of the blue team shifted.

Giles was on the yellow team. Of course.

Just the thing to drag Kai out of his sulking about the paint and light a fire under his ultra-competitive ass.

Dan cleared his throat.

"Mr. Simmons will be in charge of refereeing red and green, while I keep my ever-watching eye on the blue and yellows!" he announced, "now, gentlemen! Come get your flags and lets get this show on the road!"

As the teams slowly broke off, Scotty glanced at the other three members of the yellow team. People he actually liked.

"Hey guys, may the best team win!" he said in a sing-song voice, winking at his friends-come-rivals as he threw cheeky finger guns.

A tall, slim boy called Adam rolled his eyes.

"Yeh. Rub it in our faces why don't you...how come you get the world class athlete and we get Harry?" he complained.

Harry frowned hard.

"Hey!"

"What?" Adam shrugged, "You once got a stitch sitting down!"

Harry blushed.

"Oh, because you're such a gazelle..."

"Exactly! We're fucked!" Adam snapped back, gesturing at his own weedy physique.

Scotty nodded.

It had crossed his mind that with Kai on his team, he probably wouldn't have to do much. And that was fine by him.

"Yeh. Tough break guys. May as well just sit down..."

Another set of eyes frowned. The tallest of the opposing team, David.

"As if! We may not be as strong as Kai, but doesn't mean we can't win!"

Reuben looked around at them and puffed his cheeks.

"We're on the team too, ya know..."

They all snorted. Scotty included.

As if that made a difference...

They continued to complain and gloat respectively about how unfair/awesome it was to be going up against Kai, making the grouchy mute himself shift.

Yes, he knew he was better than all of them combined. But this was getting a little embarrassing...

"All right...enough yapping and let's get this over with." he barked, throwing a glare at Giles before skulking off away from the enemy.

The blue-face crew turned their attention to him, waving at their friends and following their sulky, self-assigned leader.

Since Rei was hobbling, Kai leaned against a tree with his arms folded and waited a little more patiently than he normally would.

"We need a strategy." he spat out the second they caught up to him.

Rei choked on a laugh.

"We do? It's just a game of capture the flag..."

Kai narrowed his eyes at him, which made Rei's heart pound rather than intimidate.

He loved it when he went in to captain mode...

"You want to beat Giles or not?!" he scolded.

"Well...yeh, but it's supposed to be a little fu-"

"Rei should guard their flag. Reuben should go after ours." he interrupted bluntly.

"Why me?!" Rei and Reuben asked in unison.

Kai's deadpan face remained.

"Reuben's faster than Scotty. He's got more chance to getting in and out without getting caught. Scotty can man our area and tag anyone who gets in. If they get by him, they're going to be hesitant about trying to go by Rei."

Scotty blinked.

"Why?"

"You want to be the asshole who makes a guy on crutches struggle?"

Rei choked again and frowned.

"Gee, thanks...way to exploit my injury."

Kai agreed, not noticing he was being sarcastic.

"And what are you going to be doing?" Reuben asked.

Kai's cocky smirk came back.

"Didn't you hear them? They're going to be too focussed on me since they think I'm the biggest threat. So I'm going to take them on a little run while Reuben gets in."

Reuben's eyes sparkled at his glorious leader.

"That's _brilliant_..."

Kai's head moved a little, allowing the ego stroke.

Rei rolled his eyes. He saw that...

"One thing..." he interjected.

"Hn?"

"You're brilliant plan about me guarding the flag...you really think Giles is going to care about that?"

His question made Kai snort arrogantly.

"As if I'm going to let him get anywhere near you..." he muttered as he pushed himself off the tree.

Rei felt an all too familiar heat in his face and a punch in the chest.

"Reu? You clear? I'll distract them, you haul ass. OK?" his husky voice carried over his shoulder.

The husky sound of authority sent a shiver down the smaller boy's spine, making his nerves kick up.

Shit, if he messed this up, they'd all hate him for it.

"OK..." he squeaked, shifting his feet and looking around for where he should put himself.

A few minutes later, the flags were set down on either side of the large, open area.

Battle was ready to commence.

The warlord himself wandered in to the middle of it. Steely grey eyes glancing between the two teams with his trademark grin.

"May the best team win! I'll be watching like a hawk, so no foul play!" he said cheerfully, but aiming it at certain individuals in particular.

Kai scanned his opponents and fought a smirk. All of their eyes were on him.

Perfect. Just as he'd expected.

He bent his knees and shifted a foot back to get ready.

Dan slowly lifted the whistle to his mouth.

"On your marks...get set..."

With the sound of the whistle, Kai was off in a flash, his shoes kicking up a small plume of dust behind him as he broke in to a charge in to enemy territory.

Just as he'd hoped, Adam and David visibly stuttered before breaking in to a run at him.

Reuben froze and watched for a moment in a state of awe.

Holy crap, he was fast.

He watched the other two struggling to keep up with him, reaching out to try and tag him while Kai ran circles around them and dodged their swipes easily, zig-zagging his way around the field.

Such athleticism, such poise!

Violet eyes suddenly pierced him.

"HEY!" he shouted angrily before his legs seemed to go even faster and run in the opposite direction.

Right...he had a job to do...

Crap, crap, crap...

He shook himself.

What would Captain America do!?

He inhaled as much air as his lungs could physically hold before breaking in to a sprint.

He'd get the job done...

Meanwhile, Rei relaxed, leaning on the tree the ceased flag was next to, chuckling to himself.

Kai had told him to haul ass and the little guy sure was following orders.

Wow...maybe this would be easier than he thought.

The others really were trying to stick to Kai like glue, leaving Reuben completely open.

His smirk fell as soon as he had that thought when out of the corner of his eye, Giles appeared on the scene. And Rei got the feeling he saw through their plan.

Like a preppy bull, he smirked at Reuben before he began to charge.

Reuben's impressive sprint quickly turned in to a U-turn and a shriek as he 'hauled ass' back to the safety of his own base.

Rei sighed.

So much for that...

But he tried!

He cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Don't worry about it Reu! Try again!" he called out to his already panting friend.

Seconds after he yelled his encouragement, he regretted it...since it seemed to fire up the wrong person.

Giles made eye contact with him. The gross smirk that was stuck on his face growing even more as he looked over his shoulder.

Kai was on the other side of the field being chased by Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Rei could see the cogs working in his head, noticing how far away Kai was as well.

Shit...

He saw him break in to a run.

Reuben paled and panicked.

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no...he didn't want to try and tag him and risk getting beat up later.

He leapt out his skin when a hand slapped his shoulder.

"The field's open! I'll handle him! GO!" the rapid sound of his best friend's voice filtered through his ear before the back of Scotty's head whizzed by.

Reuben turned. He was right. It was wide open.

Like a firecracker going off under him, he booked it across the grass.

"KAI!" he hollered out in warning, trying to get his attention.

Kai panted, shooting his head over to see the slimy goblin making his way towards his injured damsel.

Oooohhh that was a bad move.

And Rei was right. He wasn't one to bluff.

With a firecracker going off under his ass like it had with Reuben, he made a sharp turn, bolting back to his base, Reuben slowing down like he wanted to say something to him as he passed.

Kai didn't care. There were more important things at hand.

Like getting to Rei. And winning.

"DON'T STOP, RUN!" he yelled as he passed.

Reuben let out a strangled, breathless shriek as his tiring legs obediently picked up in gear.

Tweedledee finally got the idea that strategy was needed, breaking off from Kai and chasing after Reuben.

The smaller one panicked.

"Adam...go away...GO AWAY!" he pleaded as he brought his back in and stuck his belly out to make it harder for him to tag him.

"You go away!" Adam yelled through his panting as his arms flung at him, missing every time.

From the sidelines, sat lazily on the grass, Dan slapped his palm to his face.

Maybe he ought to have a word with the PE teacher...see if he couldn't step things up a notch.

He moved his head to watch the decent half.

If you could call it that...

Currently, Scotty was waving his arms a few meters away from Rei and the flag sidestepping like a hyper crab in front of Giles, occasionally swinging to try and tap him while Giles was doing a horrible impersonation of Mike Tyson. But without floating like a butterfly, or stinging like a bee...

David had staggered to a stop at the border of his base. The last thing he wanted was for Kai to tag him out.

Giles was on his own...

He turned and saw Adam and Reuben running in circles, flailing.

That looked more fun...and less threatening.

Scotty continued to wave his arms, jumping from side to side to block Giles from getting to the goal.

Rei had been right. Giles didn't care about being that asshole who'd make the injured guy struggle.

He wasn't used to moving around quite so much, starting to tire from jumping around so much.

But luckily, Giles was equally as unfit as he was.

"Will you just...get out my way so we can get this over with!?" Giles spat angrily.

Scotty shook his head violently.

"Over my dead body!" he cried dramatically.

Giles rolled his eyes, digging deep and pretending to go to the left before dashing to the right, throwing him off and curving round him, fixing his eyes on his helpless commoner of a target.

This was going to taste so sweet, shoving that stupid flag in their faces.

Rei tensed, gripping his crutches harder.

Could he use those to fend him off? Hardly seemed like it'd be in the rules.

But what else could he do?! He couldn't just stand there and let him take it.

He braced himself to do...something, as he saw Giles' blood thirsty face charging towards him.

His worried eyes clocked another set of eyes that looked like it was out for blood.

Fiery violet ones.

With a sharp lunge, Kai reeled his arm back and swung as hard as he thought he could get away with, getting a more than satisfying slap against his unsuspecting enemy's shoulder.

"Tag, you're out, Fucknuts..." he panted roughly as the enemy skidded to a stop, rubbing his shoulder.

Giles growled.

"That...that was brute force! MR. HARRIS!" he yelled, "DID YOU SEE THAT!?"

Dan blinked.

That maaaaayyyy have been a little hard...

But hardly brute force.

And one thing he couldn't stand was a pansy.

Dan waved his arm.

"Looked sound to me! Nobody likes a princess, Giles! Off to jail you go!"

He scowled, glaring daggers at Kai, who raised an amused brow.

"You heard the man..."

He didn't bother holding in his chuckling as Giles sulkily dragged his feet like a petulant child over to the sidelines.

Once he was gone, he let himself take a second to get his breath back, resting his hands on his knees a minute.

He'd been charging around the field for quite some time already. Now he'd stopped, he was starting to feel it.

Rei smirked.

"My hero..." he said in a quiet voice, looking over his sweat matted and flushed skin.

Kai lifted himself up, gripping the bottom of his shirt and lifting it up to his sweaty face to wipe it off.

"Told you, didn't I?"

As the shirt lifted higher and higher, Rei's mouth dried at the unexpected visual feast.

He'd never seen that much of his flesh.

His pale...sculpted...heaving flesh...

Ohhhh wow...

His staring eyes were followed by a dopey smile.

That was his now...what a lucky son of a bitch...

Kai brought it down, frowning at the silence and weird look on his face.

"Rei?"

"...Hn? Told me what...?"

An even dopier grin broke over a face sat further away, watching from the sidelines.

That a-boy...flaunt what God gave ya...

He laughed silently to himself before looking down at the small pooch he had and back to his svelte Fireball.

…He really needed to hit the gym.

Kai cocked a brow.

"That I wouldn't let him near you." he filled in for him.

"Oh yeh...right..." Rei huffed out with a slightly awkward laugh.

A slight silence fell, making Kai shift.

"So um...you having fun?" he asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

Rei nodded dumbly.

So far he'd been stood guarding this stupid flag...when all he wanted to do was order Kai to fireman carry him back to the cabin.

Kai had similar thoughts, nodding back equally as dumbly as they both stared at each other, whimpering on the insides.

….This god damn school trip.

"Uh...guys...?"

They both turned to see Scotty pointing at the opposite base.

In the distance, a blue face looked petrified as legs moved in a blur like the Roadrunner, arms thrown back straight behind him with their blue flag tightly in one hand, bellowing behind him while all three members of the yellow team chased after him.

Scotty frowned. Something was very familiar about the weird way he was running.

Wait, was that...was that the Naruto run?

Was his friend channelling his inner ninja now?!

Kai and Rei's brows arched in both confusion and amusement.

Rei recognised the running stance from the TV show and feeling his ribs getting tickled

He was a strange little guy...

Kai on the other hand, narrowed his eyes.

That little runt was going to cost them the flag!

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! DON'T HOLD THE FLAG BEHIND YOU!" he bellowed across the field frantically.

Reuben's pumping blood ran cold as he threw his arms back around, bringing the blue cloth to his chest.

He huffed and puffed, feeling like his lungs were about to explode, quickly glancing over his shoulder and letting out a scared yelp as they gained on him.

"GUYS, HEEEELPPP!" he screamed back as he felt his steam running out.

Kai instantly took off, running to get to him like a bat out of hell.

His heart pounded as the other three gained on Reuben.

He picked up the pace, dashing for him with everything he had.

Reuben held the scrunched up blue flag out as his dual-haired idol and new best friend got closer and closer, feeling his own heart stop as he could feel the three behind him approaching.

Kai's pale hand flung out, ripping it out his hand and bolting back a mere second before Adam's hand slapped Reuben's shoulder.

The three of them overtook their prisoner, leaving him behind and gunning for the intruder with everything they had. The window getting smaller and smaller as the moody classmate got ever closer to his home base.

David grit his teeth and pushed as hard as he could.

Damnit, it wasn't over til it was over!

Despite his winning attitude, within seconds...it was over.

Kai's feet took him over the line to his team's base, leaving him home and dry without a threat to the goal.

He slowed to an arrogant jog, casually making his way to his other two teammates who were freaking out over their intense victory.

He slowed even more to a walk, dropping the flag down to the ground and declaring game over.

Dan slapped his knees and heaved himself up.

"And the winner is the blue team!" he stated officially.

Reuben ignored the jelly-like feeling in his legs as adrenaline kicked in.

His team won?!

He never won stuff! Apart from that spelling bee in the sixth grade!

His face lit up, raising his fists in the air and letting out a victorious cry as he forced his aching legs to break in to yet another run to join his comrades.

What teamwork!

If Scotty hadn't have held off Giles, they'd have lost.

If Kai hadn't come and helped at the last second, they'd have lost.

Scotty ran to meet him, leaping at him in to a less than manly bro-hug.

"You killed it, Reu!" he gushed. Who knew his buddy could run like that.

"We killed it!" he corrected, just as excited as he jumped.

Kai took the opportunity to subtly sidestep his way towards Rei, wanting to make most of any alone time with him that he could get.

As he cleared his throat, Rei smirked at him.

"We won..."

"Hn. Great." he brushed off, despite feeling the unwanted excitement bubble in him.

Rei rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on. That was fun and you know it."

Kai sniffed.

"Was fun putting him in the slammer..." he nodded at Giles, still pouting at the sidelines.

Rei chuckled.

"Well, I hope you guys saved enough energy for whatever is next. I can't really help out."

Kai groaned as the reminder came back.

This wasn't over...

Not by a long shot...

An eternity (that was actually around two hours) later, three of the four members of the blue team slumped down on to the grass, breathing hard.

What was once pristine blue shark-fins were now smudged to all hell across their clammy faces.

Scotty fell back, arms sprawled out across the floor.

"My god...this is torture..."

Reuben wiped his brow with the back of his hand.

"You're not kidding..." he whined.

Kai could only glower at them, t-shirt drenched...and not with sweat.

What the hell did they have to complain about?!

Rei on the other hand, wasn't feeling the same exhaustion as them.

Kind of hard to feel exhausted after hardly doing anything...

"Ah, come on guys! It's been awesome! The three of you have been killing it!"

Kai snapped his fiery glare to him.

The _**three**_ of them!?

Scotty heaved himself back up.

"I guess... we did own them all on the obstacle course..."

Rei and Reuben nodded in agreement.

Kai couldn't decide who to glare at.

 _ **We**_!?

It was him that had to jump over those walls, then jump back and pull the rest of them over because neither of them had an ounce of upper-body strength between them! Him who had to keep going back and untangling Reuben from the rope net!

"And we kicked their asses royally at that hill race!" said burden chirped in.

While Rei's stomach fluttered at the memory, Kai's eye twitched.

They all had to run individually up a steep hill. The fastest team to get everyone to the top won.

Only Rei had a broken ankle...

So guess who had to go back and do it again...with the invalid on his back?

His hands gripping Rei's thighs were little comfort while his own were screaming.

Scotty let out a chuckle.

"And boy, was my face red at the water balloon dodge thing...sorry again about that, Kai..."

Kai's brow started going.

Ah yes. The piece de resistance...

SOMEONE (Dan) thought it would be super fun to include game which involved everyone running from point A to point B without getting hit by water balloons...which were being pelted by Dan, Mr. Simmons and Rei, who was asked to do a Kai and abandon his team for this one.

Whoever made it to the goal without being hit, won it for their team.

A piece of cake for Kai, even with Mr. Harris clearly gunning for him.

Who cared if he was winning it all? Wasn't his fault everyone else sucked!

Or so he thought, until he saw Scotty trip over his own feet and hit the ground.

He still didn't know how he managed it. Or why he felt compelled to go and assist.

But in the moment he bent down to pick him up, the Warlord made his move.

Taking an armful for good measure, Dan became a human machine gun.

An accurate one...

To his delight, three balloons hit him square between the shoulder blades and burst, like an ice cold firework.

He let out a gasp at the shock and cold, spinning around and throwing a heated, murderous look while goosebumps broke out across his skin.

Dan cracked a demonic grin at him, arm still loaded with colorful balls of vengeance.

Finally...a chance for a little payback for all the crap he'd given him over the year.

Taking a fraction of a second to reload, he fired.

With several more bursts to the chest, Kai was drenched, looking down in quiet shock and rage at his dripping shirt.

Rei took a million snapshots in his mind, saving them to his happy place.

He got yelled at by Mr. Simmons for slacking. While his eyes feasted, he'd forgotten he was supposed to be throwing stuff.

Why, WHY didn't Kai wear a white t-shirt today?!

It was all right...it was grey...and clung to him so good...

Meanwhile, Kai was out of the running, wet and pissed. Dragging himself off to the sidelines.

Luckily for them, Reuben had grown a taste for running, and was small enough that he could weave in and out of the way of the oncoming assaults, taking yet another win for their team.

"All right boys!" Dan called to get their attention, trying to hide his own tiredness from his voice, "We come to the last task of the day! Perhaps the most gruelling of them all!"

He got a sea of groans in return, all 11 boys unwilling to get off the floor just yet.

Hadn't they suffered enough!?

"TUG. OF. WARRRRR!" Dan yelled out gruffly.

The sea of groans grew stormier.

Of course...a battle of strength against a guy with arms like boulders.

Scotty chuckled and looked over his damp teammate as something Rei had said to him the night before popped in to is mind.

" _He could kill me with those arms and I'd thank him!"_

This was going to be a piece of cake.

His eyes scanned over the muscular biceps and lingered there.

My God those would make you feel so safe...

Kai glanced to the side, frowning at the weird smile he was getting from Scotty.

Where was he even looking...?

"What?" he bit.

Scotty tore his eyes away from his guns.

"Nothing...mind wandered. Sorry."

...Damn, he should start doing push-ups.

Once again, Mr. Simmons drew the teams.

The first round was to be blue vs green and red vs yellow. The winner of each to go head to head.

They were lead over to an open area not far from the camp site, every one of them paling and staring in dismay at the thick rope laying beside a small pool, big enough to fit a group of people, filled with murky brown, muddy water.

Not one person approved...

Dan bounded over. Excited. He'd been waiting for this all day!

"As you can see, the aim is to get the opposite team in to the mud! I hope you all listened when we said bring old clothes!"

Reuben looked down at his brand new sweatsuit...

Oops...

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad!

They sat to the side, watching as the reds went up against the yellows.

To their delight, Giles went face first in to the mud within seconds, followed by their friends.

But ohhhh god, that mud really looked like it went everywhere..

He hoped Kai wasn't too tired to win it for them.

"Next up! Blue vs. green!"

The four greens smirked as they went to the rope.

They were a man up on them.

Kai turned around as Scotty and Reu walked behind him and picked up the rope.

"What are you doing? Let me go at the back."

"Why?" Reu asked as he froze with the rope in his hand.

"The strongest should go at the back. Less chance of slipping."

"Right! Of course..."

Such strategy...what a pro!

Luckily, for Reuben's brand new outfit, Kai's arms preceded him, pulling the four weaklings easily in to the mud without so much as breaking a sweat.

Or that's what it looked like to everyone else.

He wanted this to be over so bad...god, he was getting tired.

But there was just one left.

It all came down to this.

Blue vs Red.

The reds stepped back to the rope, eyeing the other team, determined to at least put a dent in their winning streak.

"Ready?!" Dan cried from the side, watching the boys take the rope and the strain.

"GO!"

The red team pulled with everything they had, every other student cheering them on, wanting to see the underdog take the final round.

They could wish all they wanted, Kai wasn't one to lose for charity.

He dug in his heels, keeping them firmly in place as his arms held on to the strain while the two in front of him pulled back as hard as they could, feet slipping and sliding.

Rei eyed his new boyfriend, not giving two shits about the game.

His eyes were too busy taking in the still damp t-shirt, sweaty skin, smudged paint and slight smears of mud as well as a look of pure determination.

Not to mention that now there were popping arm veins to admire...

What a death that would be...

"Pull! Pull!" the leader of the red team stuttered as he too did his best to move the brick wall.

Kai kept them grounded, waiting to see if Scotty and Reuben would be able to help pull them in some.

Nope...

He guessed it was all up to him again.

Getting a firmer grip on the rope, he bent his knees and began to pull, causing the reds to be yanked forward slightly.

Dan fought a sigh. Of course, the best team should win. But he felt bad that one team had a blatant advantage over everyone else.

...In that he actually possessed physical fitness, strength and prowess.

He wondered, did his Fireball even feel a sense of achievement if there was no challenge?

As soon as that thought went through his mind, a mischievous lightbulb went off.

Would it be cheating?

Yes. Very much so.

Did he care?

...Nope.

He dashed over to the back of the red team, grabbing hold of the rope.

"Mind if I join you, boys?" he asked cheekily.

The four of them cheered.

They didn't care if it was playing dirty, it was better than a full blown humiliation.

Reuben and Scotty paled while Kai frowned.

"Hey! Harris! Butt out!" he yelled over venomously.

Dan let out an evil chuckle.

"What's the matter, Kai? Can't handle little ol' me tagging in?"

Kai glared.

"I think we can handle an old man!" he fired back, feeling the strain getting stronger as Dan took hold of the rope.

"We'll see...come on boys, let's make 'em taste some mud!" he called out, fired up as he started to pull.

The three blue faced boys slid a few inches before a wider eyed Kai dug his heels in more.

Was Dan as strong as that? Sure didn't look it.

Either way. No. Nope. Not happening.

He wasn't about to lose to _him_!

He wouldn't stop hearing about it 'til he graduated.

He felt his chest tighten.

Or until he left...in a matter of weeks.

With a sharp tug, his feet slid forward, jolting him back to earth.

He frowned hard.

Ohhh no he didn't.

He adjusted his arms and hands on the rope and tugged back as hard as he could, trying to step his way back to where he'd been at the start.

He'd be damned if he ended up in the mud bath.

If anyone was going for a little swim, it as gonna be Dan!

He channelled his inner annoyance.

All the sly digs...

The comments. The ribbing.

That god damn _grin_!

The horrible situations he'd put him in.

The choir, the room sharing...the... _shower!_

Every muscle fired up with rage, he heaved against the rope.

Rei's own smile stretched to let out a fang as he started to see Kai struggle. His face showing he was having to dig a lot deeper to hold them with the added muscle.

He should be furious...it was his team after all.

But at this point in the day, who cared any more?

Besides, he wanted to see Kai go down...

That probably made him a horrible boyfriend. But how often did someone have a chance to pull Kai Hiwatari in to a pool of mud?

He was only human.

Dan's musical cackle echoed down the rope.

"Ohhhh? What's this? Am I sensing difficulty?" he mocked as he pulled.

Kai's body managed to get even tenser, his teeth grit.

"Hardly!"

Dan's smirk only spread further across his face. He heard the falter.

"You're so full of crap, Hiwatari!"

Reuben felt his entire body start to shake under the strain of the rope.

"Mr. Harris! This isn't fair!" he complained.

James, the frontman for the red team, nodded in agreement, sensing a way out.

"Yeh! Should be even! Why don't we make it one on one!?"

The kid behind him blinked in between pulling.

"Why one on one?!"

"Because I just wanna sit down!" he whined.

Scotty nodded. He liked the sound of a sit down...

"I vote Kai for the blue team!"

Kai growled.

Of course...

James nodded back.

"I vote Mr. Harris for the reds!"

"What?! No fair! He's not even on your team!" Scotty yelled back.

"He took an oath when he picked up the rope!"

Dan grinned.

He'd been so bored just watching. If the kids were willingly handing him the torch, who was he to turn it down?

"He's right! Red 'til I die!"

Scotty shrugged. He didn't care if it meant he could let go of the rope and cheer on from the sides.

"Everyone in agreement?!"

They got a resounding 'yes'.

Kai groaned.

Really?!

"On the count of three...the rest of us let go."

"Three..."

"Two..."

"ONE!"

The rope tightened as quickly as it loosened as the two went at it, Kai taking the strategy of turning himself and heaving the rope over his shoulder while Dan quickly wrapped it around his waist and pulled.

Kai may have boulders for arms, but Dan's power came from his legs.

The younger panted, cursing his so-called teammates for making him do the work of three people this entire damn time!

He could feel he wasn't as strong as he should be. And Dan was fresh as a daisy after a day of sitting on his ass and an ever powerful desire to humiliate him.

Well, he wasn't going to let him.

He dug as deep as he could. Surely Dan wouldn't be able to hold him. What was he, 40? He'd be on a mobility walker within the year.

Dan held in his laugh as he tugged back slightly, but mostly just held his ground, letting Kai pull and tug to his heart's content.

Ah Kai, for someone who always gave him the 'no one understands me' vibes, he sure was like an open book sometimes.

Throughout his entire experience with Kai he'd learned very quickly...

Kai would pull away from him as hard as he could. But if he stood his ground, eventually he'd come around.

And that was wonderful for a lot of reasons, even applicable in this particular situation...

He felt him running out of steam.

He pulled himself back, seeing one of his student's long legs slide.

His eye glinted.

"Ready to bow down?"

He heard an all too familiar irate grunt.

"As if!"

Dan let out a snort, he'd had his fun...and his back was starting to hurt.

"Oh...shut up and get in the mud, princess!" he threw dryly.

With all he had he gave a sharp, strong yank using every muscle in his body, feeling the give and pulling some more, watching Kai's feet go out from under him in almost slow motion as he reached his goal of yanking him in to the murky, muddy pit with a splash.

There was a deathly silence before the 11 surrounding students broke in to cheers and laughter, applauding their character of a teacher on his victory against the serial winner.

Dan flexed both his arms and posed in victory, soaking up the applause and cheers before his eyes went down to see what was usually pale skin and bluish slate hair covered in earthy brown.

...He was holding his arm.

And the look on his face made his own pale.

Oh god...oh god, oh god. He'd injured him!

What had he done?! It was just supposed to be fun!

He couldn't have done too much damage, right?

This wasn't going to get him fired...right!?

He dashed over.

"Kai?! You all right buddy?!" he shrieked in a far less calm voice than usual.

Kai let out a noise.

"What is it?! What's the matter?!" he begged as he crouched down and reached for his arm, feeling guilty as all hell.

Kai's face suddenly changed as his 'injured' arm flew out and grabbed him by the shirt.

"You! You're a pain in my ass." he growled as he yanked at the shirt, making the cocky teacher topple from the balls of his feet in to the small pool of gunk with him face first.

The cheering and applause vanished in to perfectly still silence.

Within seconds, he came up, gasping and wiping the muddy crap off his face and glaring furiously for a moment before the usual glint came back.

"...You little bastard..." he grinned as he reached in to grab a chunk of sludge, shuffling over and holding it up in threat.

For the first time all day, a grin cracked over Kai's face, his own mischievous glint appearing in his eyes as he shifted back, his arm up to block it.

"You deserved it and you know it!" his voice cracked with a giggle as he fumbled for his own ammunition.

"Uh huh, and you deserve this right back! _**C'mere**_!" he growled playfully as he lunged.

Eyes went wide as they witnessed their teacher grab hold of him and shove a handful of mud in his face.

...RIP Mr. Harris.

It was a shame...he was one of the good ones.

Somehow though, their eyes got even wider as a never before heard sound pierced their ears.

Was that...was that laughter?

Like actual laughter?

Coming out of _Kai_?

The usually stiff, stoic and pissed off looking classmate was currently squirming against his hold, with something weird on his face that wasn't mud.

A smile.

Dan's all too familiar chuckle mixed in.

"Remind me, who's the pain in the ass?" he asked in a playful threat as he continued to hold him and smear goop on him.

"The fact that you have to ask really explains why you teach music..." Kai giggled back, nose scrunched up from laughing as he tried to move his face away, torn between trying to push him off and trying to grab his own ammo.

Dan's grin fell open in amused offense.

"OOOOHHHH, that was cold! But if you were so smart, you wouldn't sass. NOW BOW TO YOUR SENSEI!"

Scotty smacked Reu's arm.

"Hey! Our boy's in trouble!" he grinned as he stood and broke in to a run, "Nerds of a feather flock together!"

Reub waited and let it sink in before he scrambled himself up and charged.

Dan and Kai both snapped their head at the sound of the weird battle cry heading their way.

Before they had time to process it, Reu and Scotty had jumped in to the dirt pool, yelling and splashing their teacher to get him off their fallen captain.

The red team burst out laughing.

"Well shit...since he won it for us, guess we'd better go help." James announced before heaving himself and running over, quickly followed by the other three.

And then the green team.

And then the yellow team...minus one asshole who was too cool. Not that the others care.

Mr. Simmons looked on, a face looking both amused and horrified.

Rei held his phone up and hit record for the third time. This just kept getting better.

Not only was it funny, but it warmed his heart something fierce.

As much as he would love to be in their hurling mud, he was also glad he was able to sit back and watch that invisible wall that was ever present coming down. And epically so.

The mud hurling and splashing continued a little longer until an ear-splitting whistle rang.

"I think that's enough boys...and Mr. Harris..." a stern voice scolded.

They all stopped in their tracks, murky water and clumps of mud covered every inch of all of them.

"Yes sir..." they all replied reluctantly, dragging themselves out the pool.

Mr. Simmons looked at his watch and startled.

"All of you back to your cabins and get cleaned up! The bus back to the school leaves in 90 minutes!"

They muttered as they regrouped to their teams. Each of them covered in varying levels of gunk.

Buzzkill...

Rei snorted as his three comrades wandered over to him. Filthy.

Kai was almost unrecognisable apart from a few tufts of untouched hair and his eyes.

….How was it possible that he still looked that good, even though he was covered head to toe in grime?

As the groups turned to break off, Dan stopped them.

"Hang on, boys! I think this is one for the year book! Gather round!"

They groaned. Yet again.

After posing for a group picture, featuring Dan laying on his side in front of his students, they were finally allowed back to shower.

"Might be better if two of you waited outside while one of you showered...don't want to get complaints about the room being covered in mud..." Rei suggested to them as they reached the cabin.

"Who wants it first?" Reuben asked, before they pulled rock, paper, scissors to decide.

Scotty was the lucky one.

"Ha! I'll try and leave some hot water for you!" he taunted before he dashed inside.

Rei shook his head, sitting on the porch of the cabin with Kai and Reu before a silence fell.

Of course...a third wheel.

But as the minutes went on, he got a sense from Reuben that _he_ was the third wheel.

"I'm gonna go pack my stuff up. I'll make sure Scotty hurries up for ya!" he smirked before he stood his clean self up and wandered inside, not missing Kai's pleading stare not to leave him with him.

The door closed.

Shit...

He shifted uncomfortably as he felt Reuben's eyes on him.

He tried his best to ignore him and stare at the trees in front.

The wonderful trees...

"...Kai?"

Crap.

"Hn?"

Reuben shifted as awkwardly as Kai.

"I just...I just wanted to say I really enjoyed being on a team with you..."

His stomach cringed.

Aw geesh...

"Um. Thanks?"

Reuben sunk. He was hoping for a 'me too'.

"Yeh...No problem...and uh, I just wanted to say..."

He drifted off, planning his words carefully in case he got punched.

Kai hoped he'd chickened out and would stay quiet.

"That..."

Crap.

"You know...that thing Giles said about you...and what he wrote on your picture...I mean, if there's any truth to it- NOT THE PSYCHO PART!" he panicked, making Kai jump and cringe at the same time, "I just mean the whole like...shrink thing. Just so you know, it doesn't bother me. Everyone has their stuff...But if there's something I can do to help, I'm here..."

Kai felt a huge shock of discomfort, swallowing a groan as he felt the urge to rip his eyes out.

He hated this stuff!

"Uh huh...noted. Nice weather for this time of year, huh?"

Reuben was equally tense. He wasn't done.

"And like...if you wanted to hang out with Scotty and I some time..."

Kai's eye twitched.

Nuh-uh.

Too soon.

"Tell you what, why don't I show you how to do a push up, huh?"

Reuben couldn't tell if he felt shut down or thrilled.

Either way, his eyes sparkled.

He'd take it!

"SURE!"

Rei zipped up his bag finally and knocked on the bathroom door. Scotty would need to hurry up if the other two wanted to shower.

He wandered to the window and let out a toothy smile.

" _No, no! Don't stick your butt out. That's it. Now down...down...little more."_

A second later, Reuben's shaking arms gave out and planted him face first on the floor.

" _...Don't worry. We'll work on it..."_

Two more showers, a change back in to uniform, a rush to throw things in their bags and a loud, excited, long-ass bus ride later, the camp and the weekend was behind them.

Kai and Rei finally got to be within close proximity of each other, sitting together.

The only problem was, Scotty and Reuben sat on the seats opposite them.

And wouldn't shut up...the whole way.

Kai never thought he'd be so relieved to see the gates of St. Tristan's coming in to veiw. But oh Lord, how he'd been waiting for this!

Finally, _finally_!

His stomach almost bubbled over with excitement, the pent up frustration, nerves and a mixture of all kinds resurfacing with each heartbeat.

They got their bags, climbed the stairs to the dorms, where Mr. Harris and Mr. Simmons wished them a pleasant evening and thanked them for a fun weekend before heading through the door to the teacher's dorms.

"Hold the door!" a voice called through to Dan, making Kai's heart stop.

"Night guys! Thanks for a great weekend!" a fanged smile and a wave said to them before he hobbled through the door.

Kai gaped at it.

….What the actual fuck?!

Pouting, he turned and stomped his way back to his own room, sulking.

This was supposed to be the good part...

Why wouldn't he come back with him?

Had he changed his mind?

He threw his bag down and slumped on his bed.

...This bed sucked with just one person...

This whole room sucked.

He sulked and hated everything he laid eyes on until a knock at the door made his chest implode.

He jumped up, scrambling like a cat on ice to get to the door and tore it open.

"Hey Kai!"

Ohhhhhhh what fresh hell was this...

His eyes fell to unimpressed.

"What?" he bit.

Dan raised a brow.

He should have known the joy of getting him to laugh and be that relaxed with him earlier was only temporary.

"Mind I come in real quick?"

"Hn..." he grunted as he stepped aside for him to enter.

Dan sighed.

Oh good.

He closed the door behind him and watched him sit himself back on the bed.

"You know..." he stuttered a little, "I mean, I know you're going to tell me to shut up and get lost, but I just wanted to come and tell you how proud I am of you..."

Despite the annoyed feeling turning warmer, he grimaced.

"Shut up and get lost..."

Dan snorted.

"I don't know what spurred on the whole face-paint thing, but I can tell it meant an awful lot to Reuben. And I can tell Scotty had a blast as well."

"That's nice..." he replied uncomfortably, yet again.

Did he mention he hated this shit?!

Dan smirked at him.

"And it looks like you patched things up with Rei..."

As per usual, a dark pink hue erupted across his nose.

That was one way of putting it...

"Yeh..."

Dan's smirk grew coy.

He knew he shouldn't pry...but...

"Did you...tell him?"

Kai arched a brow and looked up.

"Tell him what?"

Dan's eye glinted.

"That you...you know...?" he said in a girlish, sly voice.

The penny dropped.

How hadn't he known that's what he meant?!

The pink hue turned scarlet.

"NO!" he lied before he felt a stab of guilt.

Dan held up his hands.

He'd tried to tell him to man up and do it...

Hell, if he'd have opened his eyes, he would have seen that Rei was drooling over him the entire day. Moreso than usual. It was almost laughable.

But, what did he know...huh?

Teenagers were so stupid...

"All right, all right...I'm just glad you two worked it out. I guess all I wanted to say was this weekend really showed me how well you're doing. I just wanted to tell you I'm proud of ya and you should be proud of yourself, too." he spewed out, not wanting to get overly mushy on him.

Despite even more warmth that his words brought, Kai shifted.

"Thanks..." he muttered, not knowing what else to say to that.

"Hn..." Dan chuckled out, finding his awkwardness amusing as ever, "well, that's all I came here for. You must be tired after running around like you did today. Get some rest huh? Got a busy week ahead..." he said as he went to the door.

Kai watched him go.

"Thanks, Dan..."

It was Dan's turn to get hit by warm fuzzies. That was the second time he'd called him that.

"Yeh...and by the way..." he said as he reached the door handle, throwing him a cheeky smile over his shoulder, "it was a real pleasure shoving mud in your face."

Kai cracked a smirk.

"Likewise..."

Dan paused a second and bopped his head.

" _...You got mud onnnn your face, big disgrace..."_

Kai rolled his eyes.

" _Somebody better put you back in to your place!_ How did I know you'd bring that song up at some point?!"

Dan chuckled and shrugged.

"Guess you just know me too well. Night Kai!" he waved before slipping himself out the door.

Once again, he was left alone. Which sucked.

Now he not only had jittery, unsure questions about Rei in his mind, but whether or not he was going to lose him as well.

Losing either of them would be unbearable.

But both?

He sighed heavily and flopped back on the bed.

Why was it that it always got cloudy just as the sun was starting to come out?

He lifted his head and rolled his eyes as he heard another knock.

What did he want now?

He dragged himself to the door, bored expression ready as he pulled open the door only to be met with amber eyes.

"Oh...Hey." his voice cracked as he felt himself jolt back to life.

"Hey." Rei smiled back, looking around, "sorry, I wanted to drop my stuff off first. Can I...?"

Kai's heart slammed against his chest as his relief went and brutally shoved his reserve off a cliff.

Like he had done the other night when they'd argued, like he'd wanted to since the impossible happened, he quickly checked the coast was clear before grabbing him and throwing him over his shoulder.

Rei barely had chance to yelp before Kai had turned and kicked the door shut.

There was some urgent business to attend to. And crutches would slow them down by all important seconds.

As they carefully yet clumsily flopped down, their lips crashing together feeling like water after days in a desert, the clouds disbanded.

* * *

End of chapter!

I really hope you enjoyed it! I know it was a lot of fun to write parts of this!

I know the past two chapters have been more about Kai and other relationships, but rest assure, next time we will see some more of our new couple!

I hope to update faster this time, but if it takes a while again, I'm sorry in advance!

Until then, take care and thank you so so much for reading!

As always, I would love to know what you thought of it!


	23. A Plethora of Insecurities

Hello, lovely people!

I'm finally ready with another update! Thanks for your patience! It does not feel like almost two months since I updated this! I really don't know where time keeps flying to!?

As always, I really want to thank those of you who took the time to leave comments! I loved your reactions to last chapter at the camp! It was so much fun to write and I was really happy to hear which parts you liked!

That and the kind words about the fic and Kai's progress as well as other unbelievably nice things! Thank you, guys! You're the absolute best T.T

I won't ramble on any more. But here we go, I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you to Luxah for helping me with the end of this chapter with dialogue between Kai and Rei!

* * *

A Plethora of Insecurities.

Kai walked in to his home room with the biggest case of Monday blues hanging over his head he'd ever had in his life.

Life was a cruel mistress.

After a life-altering weekend (parts of it, at least) and a blissful morning that ended far too early for his liking, when he had to tear himself away from Rei, he was now dressed in his usual uniform and preparing to enter another week in this shit hole.

Which sucked even more than usual.

Everything reminded him of Ray. The curtains in the classroom were tied back in a way that kind of looked like his ponytail if he didn't wear the wrap. The chip in the blackboard looked like a fang.

Harry Scott-Northe's pencil case was even an orangey-amber color.

Most beautiful damn pencil case he'd ever seen...

He lifted his head for a change and actually looked at the lifeforms in his classroom.

Not one person looked happy to be there.

A tiny, almost unnoticeable smirk cracked when he even saw Reuben sitting and looking done with life at his desk.

His mousy brown eyes met his.

"Hey Kai..."

Kai nodded.

"Hey."

Scotty lifted his tired head off the desk.

"'Sup, Kai..."

Kai's brow arched as he gripped harder on to the strap of his bag.

How were you even supposed to respond to that?

"...S...Sup?"

He cringed. That was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever said.

He was almost certain you weren't meant to say it back in the intonation he had, making it sound like a question.

He realised he needn't bother worrying too much about it. Scotty's head was already back on the desk.

Having enough of social interaction for one morning, he turned and made a beeline for his desk.

He fell in to his seat, dropping his bag carelessly by the side of his chair.

He rest his head on his hand, looking dully out the window while letting his mind wander over the morning.

Waking up with dark hair fanned all over the pillow...and basically up his nose.

Realising he hadn't set an alarm and had woken up 20 minutes later than usual.

Rushing to get dressed in a panic only to have him hobble up behind him while he did his tie, slide his arms around his waist and rest his head on his shoulder.

Then he looked at him through the reflection in the mirror and told him how much he loved his uniform.

A stupid, wobbly smile stretched suddenly, breaking his irate expression as his hand mindlessly fiddled with his tie.

"Gooooooooood morning, everyone!" Dan's lyrical and bright voice boomed along with the slam of the sliding door as he made his grand entrance, "I hope you all slept well last night after an action-packed weekend and ready for another week of edu-macation..."

The boys groaned. Even after the most restful of nights, it was never enough.

Kai slid further down in to his chair, resting his head on his hand and let out another sigh as he was once again reminded how unfair life was.

From the moment he and Rei had kissed, there had been something keeping them apart.

Granted it had only been a few days, and the night before they got to make up for some lost time, but still...

The damn trip...

And now it was back to school.

Not only back to school, but intensive choir practice for the contest come Friday.

On top of that, deadlines for some big assignments were due this week, too.

When the hell was he going to be able to make out with him!?

SPEND TIME!

That's what he meant, spend time...

Like last night...

When they melted in to each other like a...grilled cheese.

Kissed so long their lips got chapped and swollen, but it only felt like a few minutes.

Who knew it felt so good laying on top of someone? Feeling them underneath you.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh or the other way, feeling Rei's weight on top of him.

The skin on his arms was so damn smooth...laying over ripples of lean muscle...

And he got to look in to those eyes super close up...

Maybe next time he'd see if he could get at the hair...

"...Kaaaaai?"

He jolted in his seat like he'd gotten 100 volts in his ass.

"HN?!"

Dan stood in front of him, arms folded as he arched an amused and bemused brow.

"I've called your name three times now..." he smirked, "you go somewhere nice?"

Kai's face exploded in color as the cat got his tongue. In a less cool way than it had the night before.

The color got angrier as a small ripple of giggling from his classmates joined the party.

He hated the way Dan's eyes glinted evilly. It felt like he knew _exactly_ where his mind had gone...

"That spaced out little smile says it was. But I'm afraid attendance calls. Let's try it again. Kai?"

Kai glared. Could he not have just checked the damn box?! He could see he was there.

"Here..." he grumbled back.

Dan gave him a playful, patronizing nod.

"There we go. Fourth time's a charm..."

The glare intensified, just as the bell went.

"Well, have a good day, boys! And Scotty, Kai, don't forget about practice after school. Doing double time today!"

Kai and Scotty groaned in unison.

Today was going to suuuuuckkk...

Meanwhile, Rei sipped at his green tea at his desk in the teacher's room. His head also up in the clouds.

But he alternated from the dizzying high of finally getting the guy, to the gut-wrenching lows that wild insecurity came with.

Last night had been wonderful. The two of them alone at last to finally enjoy what they'd been desiring for...Lord knows how long.

It was bliss...pure bliss.

And yet he was bothered by a horrible niggle...

Somewhere in between the epic marathon of kissing, they took a break to actually talk.

About...them.

They had both awkwardly come to the same conclusion.

They had feelings for each other that exceeded the realms of friendship.

They both wanted to explore those feelings by entering a relationship.

Neither one of them knew what that meant, really.

But they were going to figure it out.

Up until that point, it was all good.

But then Rei asked how and when they were going to tell people about it.

It was then that Kai dropped the bomb on him that he didn't want anyone to know. Not for a while.

He hadn't given a reason, and Rei had stupidly not asked for one.

In his desire to make Kai happy and make this as flawless as possible, he just agreed to it.

But now he'd slept on it, it was beginning to niggle more and more.

Of course Kai was a private guy. He was never going to be the kind of person who ran through the streets shouting about their newfound love.

But...

Not even tell Tyson and the guys?

Their closest friends?

What was he? A dirty little secret?

Was Kai uncomfortable with being gay?

Was he nervous about people's reactions?

Was he just trying to be sensible and wait until they had settled before letting people know?

Or the worst theory that came in to his mind...

Was Kai secretly ashamed of him?

It often crossed his mind.

Kai was loaded, talented, musical, incredibly smart, handsome...it was _not_ fair how one person could check so many boxes!

He could have his pick of anyone.

Sure, there was the standoffish, rude, arrogant personality. But that just made him more loveable, right!? That was what made him Kai!

And him?

He was...none of those things.

A damn good blader, granted. Fairly easy on the eyes if he said so himself. But that's about where his talent ended. He was just a guy from a tiny little village in the middle of nowhere in China.

For the millionth time he wondered, what did he have to offer him?

The door to the teacher's room flew open. Mr. Harris strutting in, whistling a jaunty tune as he near danced to his desk.

"Morning Tim! Robby! Jeffreeeey!" he greeted the other teachers, "And my main man, Rei!" he beamed as he shot him finger guns. "You recovered from the weekend?" he asked as he flopped in to his desk chair.

"Oh...yeh!" Rei answered as he blinked. Someone was chirpy this morning...

"You're sure in a good mood for a Monday morning, Mr. Harris..." he commented.

His steely grey eyes lit up.

"Ah, I always get excited the days leading up to competitions. That combined with a real fun weekend!" he explained.

Rei snickered. Trust him to enjoy camp more than the kids.

Then again, he had pretty much turned in to one of the kids at the end, dragging Kai in to the mud.

He should get Dan a gift for that. But what would possibly be enough for providing the sight of Kai sweating, flexing and getting covered in mud?

He let out a sigh and a dopey smile.

"...Reeeeiii?"

"HN?!" he jolted.

Dan blinked.

"I asked if you had fun despite not really being able to compete. You go somewhere nice?" he asked for the second time.

What was with everyone this morning? First Kai, now Rei.

"Oh yeh...a magical place..." Rei laughed awkwardly, "and yeh," he flushed, "was the best weekend ever..."

Wasn't that the truth...

Then it dawned on him what he'd actually said a moment ago and decided to jump on it as a distraction.

"Wait, did you say you get _excited_ leading up to contests?" he asked.

Dan grinned.

"That's right!"

Rei arched a brow.

"Not nervous?"

Dan shrugged.

"What's the point in getting nervous? You either win or you don't. Then go back to your lives."

"I guess..."

"Plus!" Dan added as his grin stretched wider, "I'm just the conductor! I don't gotta sing! My back is turned to the audience the entire time. I'm good!"

Rei face-palmed internally.

Typical Dan.

"Well, here's hoping your boys have a similar mindset..."

Dan waved him off.

"I'm just kidding. Of course I get a little nervous...It's just better to turn it in to excitement. Enjoy it."

Rei nodded. He'd love to carry on this conversation, but he had his own he wanted to slip in.

"So...this competition..."

Dan turned his head back to him.

"Are all the competing schools like this? Fancy private ones?"

"Yuuuuup..." Dan sighed, "Near enough anyways. It's open to all high schools, but the ones that bother with music and arts like that tend to be the...more privileged ones. I don't think many 'normal' high schools give much of their budgets to those departments..." he said before he made a very un-Dan-like face, "Which sickens me to my very _core_!"

Rei recoiled a little at his raw bitterness.

"That...yeh. I bet Beethoven is spinning in his grave..." he replied, patting himself on the back for knowing who Beethoven was.

Thanks, book on Kai's shelf.

"Exactly! It's an absolute disgrace! You know, it's such crap music isn't seen as a core subject, I mean really, how are people..."

After that it became white noise in Rei's head.

He did not care.

Eventually he cut in, letting him rant a little first and get it out.

"Yeh, just awful..." he played along, "So anyway...can I ask you something?"

Dan's scowl faded and his smile came back.

"Sure!"

Rei braced himself.

"Well...you're like, a normal guy, right?"

Dan snorted. As did a few other teachers who happened to hear him.

"That's a matter of opinion."

"No!" Rei huffed, "I mean like, you're not like the kids who come here..."

Dan clicked.

"Ooohhhhh! You mean like rich and wealthy?"

Rei nodded.

Dan cackled back.

"If I were, would I be a _teacher_? Am I right fellas?!"

He got a few snickers and groans back.

Rei sighed. Regretting this already.

"Okay...so what I'm trying to ask you is...do you ever feel like you're...beneath them?"

Dan's face suddenly changed to something that resembled a responsible adult.

"Rei? Where is this coming from? Did someone say something to you?"

He burned on the inside.

If it was Giles, he'd make sure he served detention for the rest of the year.

If it was Kai, he'd whoop his ass in to next year.

Rei waved his hands frantically, feeling the dark haze surround the normally over-bubbly teacher.

"No! Nothing like that at all! Was just...wondering."

Dan narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously.

It wasn't like Rei to seem this glum at all. He wasn't his usual chipper self.

He'd talk to him again later. When there weren't so many other ears listening. That could be it.

For now though, he may as well answer him.

"Well...there are definitely those kinds of snobby people around that want to make us average schmoes feel that way, but I guess it's important to keep in mind that in all walks of life, there are people who are just hell bent on making other people feel like crap. The best thing to do is be universal in how you deal with those douchebags. And I find the best way of fighting back is to not let it bother you..."

Rei frowned a little and rolled his eyes.

 _That_ was _it_?

Those were his words of wisdom?

How was this guy so influential to Kai? A cheap fortune cookie was better than that.

"Thanks, Mr. Harris..." he let out with zero feeling.

Dan got the hint and frowned a little back.

Oh, was that little pearl not...pearly enough for you, Mr. Kon!?

"What I mean is, if you learn to be comfortable in your own skin, like yourself, then you'll never feel beneath anybody. In fact, you might even start to feel sorry for anyone that does start to make you feel that way. Cause really, what happy person does that?"

Rei gave him a slightly more genuine nod.

That was better, but it still didn't really make him feel any better about his niggles about Kai.

Dan let out a snort.

"I mean, our guy is a prime example. If I had no self-esteem, Kai would have probably crushed my soul by now with all the stuff he's thrown at me in a rage."

Rei suddenly felt another jolt.

One at the mention of _that_ name.

Another at the embarrassment at just how rude and mean said person could be. He'd seen and heard some of the things he'd said and done to Dan. The guy had fangs sharper than his when he was in one of his moods.

"I'm sorry about that..." he apologised awkwardly.

Dan's brow arched.

"Hn? For what? Kai?" he clicked by himself before he let out a filthy chuckle, "Ahhhhh, nah! It's fine! Was just illustrating my point. I know he loves me really!" he waved off, "And besides, years of trying to make it as a professional pianist and then teaching teenagers reallllly helps thicken your skin...pretty sure I have dragon scales by now."

Rei forced a laugh.

Again, that was all well and good. But it had completely flown off the topic he had wanted.

The bell went, causing a symphony of rolling wheels from desk chairs, sighs and groans to echo through the teacher's room.

Time to commence another day at St. Tristen's

Except for Rei. Teenage stand-in Chinese teacher. Probably an awful one at that.

He had plenty of time to kill before his one class after lunch.

He rest his head in his hand and tapped the desk.

Must be nice to have enough cash to pay him as much as they did to sit around and teach a grand total of one hour per day...maximum.

He looked down at his gradually cooling tea.

Maybe he could go to the library after he was done preparing his class...

Surely they wouldn't mind him going there rather than just being sat here.

After all, it was a better use of time teaching himself some big words he could throw in to conversation. Fit in a little better here...

Or pick up a history book. Read up some things so he had a clue what the hell Kai was talking about when he got all nerdy about...Egyptians and stuff.

Ohh...Maybe if he slipped in some random facts in conversation, it would impress him so much he'd want to tell people about him!

He rolled his eyes at himself and let his head flop on to the desk.

He was being so stupid. He had to knock it off and get it out his head. Kai was not like that at all!

It wasn't that...it had to be another reason.

He was being ridiculous...

...Wasn't he?

 _Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap..._

Kai's pen tapped furiously against his desk as he glared at the clock.

9:26am...

How?! He'd been here 84 years already hadn't he?!

Wonderful. At this rate, he'd be dead before it reached fifth period.

This sucked!

Why did Rei's class have to be after lunch? That was hours away!

He'd have to make sure he ate something really light...didn't want to bloat in his 'handsome uniform'.

Another dopey smile cracked on his face.

Really...? Rei liked him in this dreck?

He guessed the colors _did_ suit him more than his old, hideous one with the green jacket and red tie.

Completely clashed with his hair. As the saying went, 'blue and green should never be seen'.

…That color combination would probably look great on Rei. The green would look sooooo nice against his complexion, and he knew red suited him 'cause of the headband...

"Remember to put your _x_ term first, on the right side of the equation..." Mr. Simmons explained as he wrote on the board, glancing over his shoulder to make sure they were following.

He looked back at the board and opened his mouth to continue when he did a double take.

…Was that a smile!?

As nice as it was to see, his eyes were out the window, not the board.

He cleared his throat.

"Mr. Hiwatari?"

...Nothin'.

Well... he really was in La-La Land this morning, wasn't he?

"Kai!" he called loudly, smirking to himself as he watched the boy drop back to Earth with a hard bump and jump in his seat

"HN?!"

"Eyes on the board, please..." he scolded, going back to his equation and letting the smirk grow, trying not to laugh at that expression.

He'd laugh about that with Dan during the coffee break...

And laugh he did.

"He was the same in home room this morning!" he chuckled as he sipped his black coffee at Tim's desk, "Must just be one of those mornings..."

Tim waved his hands in disagreement as he finished taking a sip.

"You don't understand! There was a smile! I've never seen that kid crack a smile in class once this year! Do you think there was there a cute girl at camp or something!?" he asked back, excited.

As rude and troublesome as that boy could be, the idea of Dan's 'little Fireball' going from hell beast to love sick puppy was heart warming. And one of the only plausible explanations for a grouch like him to smile would be the power of _amoure_ , wouldn't it?

That or maybe he just had gas?

Dan's sly expression came crawling right back.

He wanted to comment that there wasn't one single female on site. But he didn't want to potentially out his boy like that.

"Who knows..." he shrugged innocently as he turned his head towards Rei's desk to throw him the look. He needed to make someone blush...

Oh. He wasn't there.

Damn...

Meanwhile, in the school library, Rei tilted his head and frowned at the page he was looking at.

He'd been in here for ages now. Taking a good long walk around during the first little while to see what they had to offer...

Which was probably every book ever written ever!

They even had a decent selection of Chinese language stuff. Maybe he could use some of it in his classes if it was simple enough! Did they have any kids books maybe?

After a while of browsing that, he realised he was off task.

But with so much choice, he didn't know where to start.

Somewhere along the line, he took a quick nap in a dark corner of the Hogwarts library. There were cushioned window ledges! How could he not curl up!?

Upon waking, fresh as a daisy, he resumed.

He couldn't decide what to start with, so landed on trying to find fancy words.

He found a thesaurus.

His mouth moved a few times.

"Plethora... _Plethoraaaaaa_..." he repeated in a deep voice and fake, hoity-toity British accent as he wiggled his head.

Apparently that was a fancy word for 'a lot of something'.

So why couldn't people just say 'a lot of something'?!

"There's a plethoraaaaa of books in this place!" he rehearsed, shifting his shoulders in self pride.

That sounded amazing.

His head snapped up when the huge clock on the brick wall chimed.

It was noon already!?

Wow! A _plethora_ of time had gone by!

…Was that right?

Who cared. Still sounded fantastic.

He closed the heavy book with a satisfying thud and put it back, feeling smarter already.

Time to reward himself with a well earned sandwich.

An hour and just an apple later, Kai almost tripped up the stairs as he bolted up them. He recovered and started charging back up them as he checked over his violin case for damage. The overcast Monday blues disbanding finally for one whole hour of sun.

Finally! Fifth period. Chinese class.

And this time, after however long of questionable attendance and punctuality, he was going to be the first one there.

The _ultimate_ teacher's pet for the ultimate teacher!

He pulled open the door, only for his face to fall when he saw he was the only person there.

Rei wasn't there yet?

He pouted.

How was he going to know he was the first one there if some other asshole showed up?!

Maybe it would be enough to be there before the bell went...

He sat himself down and got out his textbook, notebooks and pens, arranging them neatly on his desk while he waited.

He sat bolt uptight as he heard the door open, jerking his head towards i-

Noooo! It was Lucas Riley...

Never before had he had any qualms with Lucas Riley. But that had now changed.

Go. Away.

Lucas Riley gave him a nod before taking his seat a few desks away.

That wasn't going away...

That was it. He was going on the list...

He perked up as the door opened again.

Oh. No. Callum Darlington.

 _List._

It wasn't long before their small class had gathered completely.

...With the exception of the teacher.

Kai rest his head on his hand, tapping the desk with his other.

Typical...

He heard a throat clear and felt eyes on him.

He arched a brow and bothered to raise his eyes to the peasant.

It was Alexander Ramsey.

"Been a while since we've seen you here...especially on time!" he said jokingly with a small smile in a stab at conversation.

He got narrowed eyes in return.

This wasn't for _you_ , Alex!

 _List!_

The bell went. And in perfect synchrony, the door opened.

"Sorry I'm late!" the vision of perfection and everything good in the world said as he entered.

Kai snorted quietly.

As if he ever needed to apologise to him...

All was forgiven.

He stumbled his way with his crutches and dumped his books on the desk.

"I won't be a minute..." he apologised, looking a little flustered as he scrambled to get himself set up.

Kai shook his head.

He could take all the time he needed.

He was there. That's all that mattered.

Rei flipped open his teacher's book one handed, opened his file to make sure he had all his prints and his lesson plan.

He was good...thank god.

He may have gotten a little side tracked during the lunch break...

Raising his eyes to the waiting eyes of his students, he cracked a smile.

"All right! Let's start. Dàjiā xiàwǔ hǎo!"

Kai's elbow near enough slipped off the table.

 _Oooooohhhhh Goddddd..._

Despite his tardier than usual start, Rei got in to his stride quick enough. Starting off with a quick review from the last class.

One Kai wasn't present at...

He had a weird look on his face that told him he wasn't following.

He was smart though, he'd catch up.

After that, he introduced them to the new vocabulary, making them repeat it a few times.

A little off...but not bad.

He couldn't help but keep eyeing Kai.

Was he even repeating?

He looked like he was up in space somewhere.

He bit his tongue.

Was the all-knowing Kai Hiwatari too good for his class now?

He kicked himself.

No, he needed to get over himself.

He was probably just lost after missing a whole week.

It wasn't normal to be resentful of your new boyfriend of...like...48 hours.

Just...

Why didn't he want anyone to know?!

…And what was up with him? He didn't look on this planet.

Forty five minutes of painful distraction later, Kai finally put his pencil down as the bell went.

Damnit...that went by too fast!

He closed his books and began to reluctantly pack away his things.

He still had one more class and a long ass choir rehearsal before he got to see him again.

Even then he had a mountain of homework to get through.

He sighed. The Monday Blues coming back with a vengeance.

Today suuuuckkkkked...

"Kai? Can I see you a minute?"

He lifted his head the moment his sweet, dulcet tones hit his ears, feeling his insides burst with excitement.

He was summoning him!

But wh-?

He pursed his lips to stop the enormous Cheshire grin from tearing across his face as he wriggled in his seat while the other students packed up and started to file out.

Ooooohhhh Rei, you bad, bad teacher...

His mind went over what they might do when the door finally closed and shuddered.

This was the most awesome thing that had ever happened to anyone. Ever.

They could live out the whole 'teacher-student' thing without it being gross and inappropriate. They were the same age after all.

Ooooooooooooh, maybe he could pick him up and sit him on the teacher's desk. Have Rei wrap himself round him like a koala. That'd be super hot...

Maybe a little too hot considering he had mere minutes before his next god damn class.

….

Ah, it was only Dan's class. He could be late.

He made sure his tie was straight and the uniform he apparently loved so much looked pristine while the other assholes left, standing himself up as the last one left.

The smirk finally cracked as he slowly walked himself around his desk to the front by the whiteboard.

"...You wanted to see me, _sir_?"

Rei burned red as his brow shot up.

Suddenly all resentment he'd felt previously had melted away.

Ooooohhhhh god, that voice...

He cleared his throat.

"Yeh. I did..."

Kai's trademark smirk appeared.

"Uh oh...am I in trouble?"

Rei chewed on the inside of his cheek, wanting to play along with his little...whatever it was.

But damnit! He was a professional!

"Not trouble, per se. It's just that you didn't come to class all last week..."

 _Because you were an idiot and avoided me..._

"So I wanted to give you everything you need to catch up. Here..." he said innocently as he opened his file and pulled out a plastic wallet filled with crisp worksheets, holding it out for him.

Suddenly, Kai felt confidence that he'd had oozing out of himself evaporate.

What the hell was this?!

Rei tried not to laugh at the expression on his face. It was one he'd never seen on Kai before

"We can't have your grades slipping now, can we Mr. Hiwatari?" he asked as his own cheeky grin cracked, exposing a fang.

"And I know this week is really busy for you with the contest coming up and all, so I'll be generous and give you until next Friday to get them back to me."

Kai blinked, not really sure how to respond to that.

"Are you...serious?"

Rei frowned slightly. The resentment coming back a little.

This wasn't the first time he'd gotten the impression he didn't take him seriously as a teacher.

"Why wouldn't I be? This is my class. One of my student's is behind. Kind of my job to make sure you don't stay that way, isn't it?"

Kai popped a hip and huffed.

"Yes, sir..." he muttered.

Great. More work.

Rei couldn't help but smile at the pouting, feeling his worries slip away and succumbing.

"Aw..." he cooed as he stepped up to him, "but if you ask real nice, I could maybe give you a little one on one tutoring...in your room..."

Once again, he tried not to laugh as he saw the other physically light up.

"I could really use the help..." he replied in a husky voice as he stepped closer to him as well.

"Yeh? Then what's the magic word?" Ray asked in the most sultry voice he could muster as he leaned in, offering the bait.

It was about to be taken. So close he could taste it. Feel his breath tickle his skin.

And they there was a click of a door handle.

Kai flew back from him like a repelling magnet, bolting back to his desk to his bag as Alexander Fuck-wit came back in for something he'd forgotten.

Liiiiissst...

Rei stood at the board unable to hide the hint of hurt in his expression.

Just like the time in the elevator, he'd bolted on him.

Yes, he didn't want anyone to know...but still.

Alex waved at him and left once again, leaving the two standing several feet apart, Kai's bag slung on his shoulder.

He didn't like the look on Rei's face.

He was bummed too, but it wasn't the end of the world. They could try again next class.

"I uh...I have music next?" he told him with a hopeful tone.

Rei often came to watch if he had nothing to do.

He hoped he would today.

Rei nodded a little blankly.

If he was in that much of a hurry to go, why didn't he just go?

Kai shifted. Something didn't feel right.

"A-and I have practice til about six...but after that?"

Rei nodded again.

"You'd better go. Almost class time..."

Kai mirrored his nodding.

So...was he going to come to his class, or?

He didn't want to come across as too pushy.

"All right...um...see you soon?"

He made himself walk out the door, cringing as he went.

That was even worse than his 'sup' this morning.

As he hit the corridor, he picked up is pace and bolted as fast as he could to the music room.

If Rei was planning on coming, he'd have to make sure his violin was in perfect tune.

As the door to the music room opened, another rare sight greeted him.

Mr. Harris was already there. Before the bell for once.

And even more miraculous, he'd made it himself with a few minutes to spare.

His grey eyes lifted to meet him and grinned.

"Hey, Kai!"

Kai shot a small smile back.

"Hey!"

Dan's smile vanished in mild shock.

That was...odd.

He watched his...weirdly enthusiastic looking Fireball getting out his violin, polishing over it with a cloth and plucking the strings. Tightening his bow with utmost care. Tuning it and...

Oh wow, was he warming up with scales?

None of his music boys bothered with scales unless he nagged them.

Was there a full moon or something?

As the bell went and the latecomers arrived, setting up their various instruments, Kai kept his eyes on the door.

Dan looked around at them all, putting his hands on his hips and staring pointedly at the ones dawdling.

"Y'all ready? Come on! Places people! Aint got all day!"

He got a few eye rolls.

Came to class on time _once_ and thought he was all high and mighty...

But for once, Kai agreed with him completely.

Come onnnnn, people...let's knock his socks off...

He didn't want to have to add anyone else to the list.

They seemed to understand his non verbal threat and do as they were damn well told.

They'd been practising this piece, as well as the super hard one he couldn't get right yet, for a while.

While he sucked at Erlkönig, this one he was pretty darn good at.

With a wave of Dan's hand, they got ready. And with another, the room burst in to music.

He played with everything he had, trying to keep his mind one step ahead to make sure his bowing was on point, make sure everything was perfect.

Shouldn't be hard to stand out. He was the best musician in this room...after Dan, of course.

Actually, some of them were really good.

He was at least the best violinist!

Mainly because the other two never practised and only did this to keep their parents happy.

An insult to violins...

Should have them demoted to viola. The abomination of string instruments.

Shit, was that meant to be a down bow?! He played an up bow!

Focus, Kai...

With the rest of the piece played out without any further hitches, as far as he could tell, he looked up from the sheet music only to find there was no audience.

...That was fine. Sometimes he came a little later on.

The second run through ended without an audience either.

As did the rest of the class.

It was fine...he was probably busy. Monday and all...Another time.

He shook off his disappointment as he put his beloved instrument away.

He never said he was going to come. And just like their interruption after class, there would be plenty more chances.

That was the stunningly beautiful thing about all of this.

They had each other now. There was no rush.

They could just enjoy it! Right?

Everything would be wonderful.

…As long as he executed everything with exact precision and perfection.

With all the things going against him; his record of betrayal, shitty personality, messed up home life, questionable mental stability, weird hair and large ears, he had to peacock the hell out of his good points to keep him.

The small disappointment turned back in to excitement as sixth period came to a close.

Just one more hurdle. Just a little longer and he'd be all his.

He'd read up a little on Wikipedia about how to incorporate some tongue. He'd see how Rei felt about breaking that one out. Didn't want to scare him off.

His own stomach flipped, scared.

He really hoped he didn't fuck it up if they did try it...

He shook himself yet again.

First things first...get this damn rehearsal over and done with.

Dan tried to keep his hands moving and conducting as he should.

But he was too busy staring with a look of confusion yet again at his Fireball.

" _Like a briiiiiiiiiidge overrrr troubled wattterrrrr! I will lay me dowwwwnnn!"_

Yes, he was singing the right words, in the right notes and right timing.

But...for a song that was about helping someone in the depths of despair...he looked awfully chirpy.

Sounded it too...it didn't fit the song.

He knew he wasn't the only one, because Scotty was stood next to him, looking at him weird. He must have heard it too.

And the damn contest was a matter of days away...

After finishing their second run through, he needed a break.

"All right boys, take five."

The neatly and precisely aligned boys broke off, fetching water bottles.

Dan took his chance to catch him alone and do what he did best.

Pry.

He stalked up to him with his hands behind his back, eyes narrowing suspiciously as he approached.

"Hey there..."

Kai swallowed a gulp of water and raised his bottle, flashing another small and rare smile.

"Hey."

Dan's eyes got thinner.

"You...all right?"

Kai nodded, taking another swig of water.

"Mmhmm!"

They got even thinner.

It wasn't like Kai to seem this chipper at all. He wasn't his usual glum self.

And it was weirdly disturbing him.

"...How come you're so damn jolly today?" he asked outright.

And just like that, his face changed back in to the one he knew and loved. The one with the scowl on it.

"I'm not!" he bit back, offence dripping in his voice at being accused of such a thing.

Dan's brow raised in challenge.

"Oh yeh? Then why are you singing a tearjerker like it's a show tune?"

He felt normality stabilize as he saw the scowl start to turn an angry red.

"I am _not_! God! Why do you always have to to come and poke at me, huh?!"

Dan let out a sigh of relief.

There he was...

After reassembling and taking it from the top again, it seemed his little poke had been successful in bringing him down a notch.

That was more like it.

Several water breaks and countless run-throughs later, they were dismissed.

At last, the day was over!

Rushing to his bag before Dan had even finished dismissing them, he charged at the door.

It was so close when...

"Hey Kai! Wait up!"

He snapped his head round to the fool who dared delay him.

Scotty...

 _List!_

"What?!" he bit out impatiently, making his weekend teammate startle a little and rub the back of his head.

"Nothin' really. I just wanted to say...good job today..." he laughed awkwardly as his eyes travelled over him and stared at his arms again.

Kai squirmed.

Why was he suddenly staring at him all the time?!

And why was he lying to him? He'd underperformed today!

"Thanks. See ya." he shot at him before he turned.

"Wait! D-do you maybe want to come hang out with me and Reu tonight? I was gonna ask Rei as well!"

Kai stopped and turned back.

Oh no...

Oh no, no...

First the embarrassment of using 'sup'. Now an awkward social situation.

The look on Scotty's face told him he really wanted them to come.

But having any other bodies in one space other than himself and Ray wasn't acceptable tonight.

He'd have to handle this with utmost care...

"No. I'm good." he nodded, turning and walking off, leaving Scotty blinking.

"Oh...o-okay! Another time maybe!?" he called after him, only to get nothing back.

Finally, Kai burst through the door to his room, ripping off his jacket and dropping it carelessly on the back of his desk chair as he launched at his phone and threw himself on the bed.

 _Kai: Hey! I'm done!_

He hit send and got up, busying himself while he waited impatiently by hanging up his jacket.

Rei tensed as his phone went off in his own room.

He looked at the message and panicked.

What was he going to do?

Was he going to go over and just pretend everything was fine? Try and force himself to stop worrying about it?

But that was the kind of thing he always got on Kai's case for.

On the other hand, he didn't want to argue with him just as they were starting out!

What if Kai changed his mind? Decided it was too much hassle...?

Lord knows he was hardly a novice at jumping ship...

Kai checked his phone for the fiftieth time.

It said he read the message three minutes ago.

So where was he?

His fingers twitched.

Maybe he should just...

 _Kai: So you can come over whenever you want._

There...that was subtle, wasn't it?

Rei panicked.

Shit. He was getting impatient.

He took a breath. He'd just go and play it by ear.

Kai stared at his English book blankly as he pretended to study.

It had been ten whole minutes.

He knew he'd better not message again. Didn't want to be clingy.

He'd get here when he got here.

Was he all right though? He looked a bit off when he'd left him. Didn't seem his bubbly self.

Was he tired maybe? Long weekend?

Maybe he could Wikipedia how to give shoulder rubs as well...

As he opened his web browser on his phone, there was a knock at the door.

He dropped the phone and fell over himself to get to it, tearing it open and hardly able to contain himself when he saw who he'd been waiting for all day stood there.

"Hey!" he beamed, stepping aside for him to come in.

Ray hobbled in with a small, forced smile, getting far enough in so Kai could slam the door closed.

He tensed when he locked it.

Really didn't want to risk anyone finding out, huh?

Kai walked up behind him and hesitated, his hands flinching and tensing before awkwardly slipped his arms around his waist and pulled him back in to him.

"I missed you..." he blurted out. Only to be met with silence.

Oh no...was that gross?

Rei tensed a little more. It wasn't that he didn't want him to hold him.

It was just the door being locked that still bothered him.

A lot of things bothered him.

It was just a matter of how to get it out where they could talk it over.

Kai lifted a brow.

Was he not doing it right?

He pulled him back in to him a little more and adjusted his arms a little.

"C'mon, let me sit. Busted ankle here." Rei bit, hoping he didn't sound too snippy, though the longer he was being restrained the more he felt himself getting riled up.

Kai let go instantly and threw himself at his desk chair.

Of course...he was such an idiot.

He turned it and rolled it out a little.

"S-sorry! Here!" He offered.

"Thanks." Rei hobbled towards it without really looking Kai in the face, throwing himself down onto it.

Well, now what?

He had come to see him, had missed him too, but there was that terrible feeling that he couldn't shake.

"You didn't have to lock the door ya know." He said as he swivelled slightly in the chair, once more not looking Kai in the face.

Kai tilted his head.

That was a weird thing to say.

"Um. Force of habit, I guess?" He answered, feeling a tension.

Rei nodded, that seemed good enough but it still didn't help the feeling that Kai was just trying to hide their relationship.

Hide him...

"Are you sure you want this?" He blurted out, finally raising his head to look Kai in the face.

Kai smirked at him.

Did he think he was bothering him?

He stepped closer to him.

"Are you kidding? I've been waiting for this all day!"

Rei arched a brow, obviously what he was saying went over Kai's head.

His fault, should have been more blunt.

"That's not what I was meaning... I'm meaning this in general, the relationship."

Kai's smirk disappeared.

"...Huh?"

The hell was that supposed to mean?!

Rei wanted to smack one of them in the face, cranking the bluntness up a notch just to save them the headache of being there all night.

"Just kind of wondering why it bothers you so much that we can't even tell the guys. If it's such a problem, why even bother being together?"

Kai stared, mouth open slightly.

Why was he saying this?

He felt bubble of fear in his gut.

"But...you agreed with me? Where is this coming from!?"

Rei shifted in his seat.

"I know I did, but now I've had time to think it over, I'm not sure I understand why." Rei said as he shook his head a little, "I mean, I know I'm not the best option out of the others here but I didn't think that really mattered to you." He rambled on a little.

Kai's eye twitched.

The fuck was this!?

This wasn't supposed to be how this went.

He was supposed to come and do nice things, like watch that stupid show he liked on his bed and stuff!

"That doesn't make any sense! And what's there to understand? What are you talking about!?" He bit out in frustration.

Rei made a noise of frutration himself.

"How does this not make any sense? I'm telling you that despite me agreeing earlier with you, I'm not comfortable with keeping it a secret. At least not from the others, unless you want to act like nothings changed between us around them." Rei argued back, keeping a calm tone before the bubbling in his gut got too much to handle.

"Are you really just that embarrassed by me, even to our friends that you can't bare to be seen with me in a different way!?" He snapped.

Kai felt himself start to sweat as the rug got pulled out from under him.

"I didn't mean we should never tell them! Just for a while!" he pleaded.

Rei's frown deepened.

"But why? Why should we keep it from them at all?!"

"Because it's not their business!" he argued back, "Why do they need to know before we've even had time to figure it out!?"

Rei's brows rose higher, "What's left to figure out? What, is this just a test drive before you go and make the final purchase or something?!"

Kai jolted and waved his hands.

"No! No, no! That's not what I meant!"

But Rei was already setting up his next rant.

"I'm not saying we have to stand out on the rooftops and scream about it, but I should at least be allowed to tell the guys. I should be able to be happy about this, not be made to feel like I'm some kind of dirty little secret! What? Too common for you!? Not smart enough?!"

Kai put his hands down, finding all this hard to follow.

"But you're not a dirty secret! Why are you saying all this stuff!?" He pleaded.

Seriously, what had he done now!? When had he ever said anything that would make him think that way?

"I just...you know, in case you haven't noticed, things are kind of hectic right now! I just want to do this right! Ease in to it!"

" _That_ doesn't make sense, how would telling them make or break this? As you said, it's not their business in the end, but at least letting them know would be better than not telling them until later." Rei argued.

Once more it felt as though Kai was just hoping to jump in and jump out of the drivers seat.

These things only worked when you put in the time and effort, and broke the same way.

Others knowing would have no real consequences to the grand scheme of things.

Kai shifted

 _This_ was exactly why he didn't want to tell anyone.

Cause he had a feeling he'd fuck up.

And his wonderful gut instinct seemed to be on point.

He'd upset him already!

"Because I don't need any more pressure, Ray! Please! We will tell them, but just...will you let things settle first!?"

Rei huffed.

"What pressure? I haven't pressured you into doing anything here."

"That's exactly what you're doing!" He raised his voice defensively, "I don't want anyone poking their nose in this yet! I just want to let us both get used to this first!"

Rei let out an irritated sigh, still not understanding how having other people know would make it anymore or less hard to navigate a new relationship.

"Why don't you just be honest with me, tell me that you don't want anyone to know because you're actually ashamed of being with me."

Kai felt the hard, verbal slap, which turned his face angry.

"Is that the kind of guy you think I am!?" He hissed.

"I didn't until this became an issue." Rei bit back quickly, "It's just the guys, what harm could telling them really do? But no, you'd rather I just keep this to myself when I want to tell them so they can be happy for us like I am."

"What's the rush!?" He yelled, frustrated, "Why is them finding out more important than us being comfortable!?"

"Because I am already comfortable with this, which leaves me to wonder why _you're_ not!"

Kai squirmed, feeling himself getting more and more riled.

"Because I'm not ready to tell people, all right!? It's got nothing to do with me being 'ashamed' of you! What kind of bullshit is that!? What is there to even be ashamed of!?"

Rei scoffed a little, "You tell me, since you're the one 'not comfortable'."

Kai clenched his fists, wanting to rip his own face off.

"Will you knock it off!? Why don't you trust me on this?! I'm looking you in the face and telling you that isn't it!"

Rei licked the front of his teeth, pulling his arms around his chest as his shifted on the chair and shot him a challenging look.

"Then call Max and tell him."

Kai scoffed.

He was not going to play this game with him.

"No! I told you, I want to wait!"

Rei pressed his lips together, giving a quick jerky nod of the head and pulled himself up to his feet.

He yanked his crutches and roughly shoved them under his armpits.

He wasn't going to outright admit it. But as was typical of Kai, actions spoke louder than words.

Kai felt his insides freeze as his face fell in panic as he began to hobble off.

"Where are you going?!"

Rei flipped the lock on the door, "Leaving."

The click of the lock felt like a knife to the chest that stopped him breathing.

This was exactly what he'd feared.

He knew he'd make him run for the hills, but after 48 hours even exceeded his own expectations.

They hadn't even held hands yet!

They hadn't even tried out the WikiHow thing!

But this...he still didn't understand where Rei was coming from. Why was he wrong? Why couldn't they wait a little? Let them enjoy this to themselves and grow accustomed before letting anyone else know and start waiting for him to fuck it up.

He realized as Rei's hand grabbed the handle, he didn't have time to think about it. He had to do something.

He ran forward and grabbed his hand.

"Wait!"

Rei let out another heavy sigh.

That damn stupid word once more invading his hearing.

 _Wait._

Well he was tired of waiting! He'd wanted this for so long, and now there was this!

What was there to wait for now? To be made to feel like he didn't matter? That what he felt for him had to be hidden away?

He was comfortable with it, why wasn't Kai?

"What?" He snapped, jerking his hand out from Kai's hold.

Kai flinched at him recoiling away from him. The look on his face and the tone of his voice amping up the ominous sense of doom that made him feel sick and start to tremble.

"Don't go! I'm sorry!" He begged.

Rei narrowed his eyes at him.

"I just don't understand why you're not already comfortable being with me, I'm comfortable with us. Why aren't you?"

He shook a little more, unable to shake the panic that he was fighting pointlessly to keep him from walking out and declaring this game over.

"How can you say that when we've only been together for like a few hours! You're going too fast!" He exclaimed desperately.

"I don't want anyone to know until you know you're happy with this! That you can handle it!" He spewed out frantically.

Rei let out a slight snort.

"I am happy with this! And what makes you think I can't? I've been handling you for years!"

Kai shook his head and made himself breathe.

"This is different! This makes things way more serious! What if the guys aren't happy about it!? What if they try and talk you out of it!? The second you tell them it's just going to be more eyes on me waiting to trip up and I can't deal with any more of that!" He rambled, "And what is it gets out here!? People are going to laugh at you! I hardly have the best reputation here! You're dating the psycho guy! And what if all that gets too much huh!? My shit!?" He veered off and started to get upset, "It's got nothing to do with me being ashamed of _you_ Rei! It's got everything to do with me being an embarrassment to _you_! Who wants a boyfriend who has a reputation of being a traitor?! A deserter! Aggressive! Unstable! Someone who 'needs a muzzle'! Someone who got ordered to see a shrink!" His voice wobbled, "the thought of you changing your mind is already too much as it is! I can't handle an audience!"

Rei stared stunned, taking in the flood of words Kai had spewed out at him and watching him get more and more upset.

Taking it all in, he started to see that he'd read this completely wrong.

That wasn't right to do to him. But it was how it had made him feel.

Why couldn't he have just said all this to begin with instead of being so aloof about it? Made it seem more secretive than it was.

Then he stared some more, because he wasn't even sure where to start after all that.

Loading up his lungs, he took it from the top.

"Of course they'll be happy for us! Why wouldn't they? And if they're not, that's their problem not ours. If they try to talk me out of it then they're not the friends I thought them to be, nor would I consider them friends any more after that." He stopped, not even sure how to relieve the stress of Kai's fears of people waiting for him to screw up.

Of course this was going to be 100% perfect, these things never were, but as long as they tried that was all that really mattered.

Maybe that was part of his issue. If Kai considered every other aspect of his life a failure if it wasn't perfection, why would this be an exception?

"As for the people here, let them laugh if they want, I don't really care what other people have to say or think about this. As you said before, it's not their business. And I never once thought, or looked at you, like an embarrassment. I've had these feelings for you for a long time, because I _know_ who you are." he added firmly as he took the hand he'd yanked away from moments ago.

Kai's eyes went a little wider, the last part wrapping him up in a comfort that quelled some of the fiery panic.

He sniffed a little.

"And I've never, ever been ashamed of you! But you're already thinking I'm doing you wrong! I don't want other people to help you figure out I'm not good enough for you!"

"I didn't realize _this_ was why you hadn't wanted to say anything, the other excuses you made up made it seem that way though. Now that I have a better picture of it all, I don't really feel like that now, so next time just be honest and open with me." Rei explained in a more calm tone.

"And please, as if I'm good enough for you." He rolled his eyes a little.

Kai blinked at him.

"Yes you are. You're perfect." He told him with no hint of flattery before he went immediately back to flapping.

"I promise I'll be better! Just let me try! Please!" He pleaded, "I-if it makes you happy then give me the phone and I'll call Max!" He bargained, despite the thought making his insides heave.

Rei flushed at the sincere compliment from him as he waved off the apology and the bargaining chip. Now they'd both exploded, he could see more clearly that this whole thing was a product of them both letting their insecurities run rampant.

"It's fine, we'll tell them when you're ready. If you're not comfortable yet then it's only fair for me to wait until you are."

Kai let out a huge breath of relief and fell on him, putting his arms round him in an unintentional vice like grip.

"Just give me some time, that's all I ask! I suck at this stuff..." he whined in to his shoulder.

If it wasn't for Kai having perfect footing, they both would have gone down like a sinking ship.

Rei dropping his hold on his crutches to compensate for his weight being slightly thrown back, his arms going around Kai's back as he tensed for the impact that never came.

Relaxing into the tight hold some, he breathed in his scent as his face was crushed into Kai's shoulder.

"It's okay, take the time you need. I wouldn't have blown up on you if I knew this was the reason, I'm sorry."

Kai nodded in to his shoulder, feeling the weight come off his.

He'd have to do much better on that front, for Rei's sake.

"Me too..." he added before there was a slight pause.

"...so...can we Netflix and Chill now?"

"Did you do the homework I gave you?" Rei asked in full blown teacher voice.

Kai reeled his head back with a look of horror.

"But you said I had until next Friday!"

"You do, but wouldn't hurt you to get a start on some of it. Right?" Rei questioned, looking back at him with a serious face. "If it's not done by next Friday then I'm afraid I'll have to cut your grade, you know." As he spoke a coy grin slowly spread along his lips.

Kai blinked and stared for a moment before he nodded and let go.

"Okay..." he let out glumly, taking himself back to his desk.

Shit...he had other deadlines first, but he didn't want to make him mad again.

Rei just stared back at him, wanting to smack his own face.

How was his boyfriend one of the smartest people on the planet, but also one of the densest?

"I mean, if you're still up for that _private_ tutoring session, I am already here and all." He tried in a more seductive tone, maybe that would work, though he wasn't even sure if he actually sounded seductive as he had planned to be.

Kai nodded as he got out his pencil and fumbled around to find the wallet it worksheets in his bag.

"That'd be great, I need a little help with the intonation I think..."

Rei conceded defeat. Nope. Had gone right over his pretty head. Was his own damn fault for flipping his 'serious study' switch.

He picked up his crutches and went to the bed, flopping himself down on his side.

"Okay." He sighed, throwing his hair over his shoulder as his made himself more comfortable.

Kai glanced over his shoulder at hearing his tone, then back, and then did a double take.

The way he was laying looked so damn inviting...

No! He had to resist! He had grammar to conquer!

He gripped his pencil harder and stared.

Rei was too busy playing with the ends of his hair to notice Kai's wandering eyes, until he felt them on him a little too long.

He glanced up through his bangs, though the second their eyes met, Kai had turned back around as if he caught him doing something he shouldn't have.

Maybe not all hope was lost on him after all...

With a small hum in the back of his throat, he started to undo the clasp at the end of his hair. Going to the one at the back of his neck.

Kai felt a shiver as he heard the slight tinkering, fighting to keep his eyes on his book.

Pleaaaaaaaaaaaase let that be what he thought it was...

With more of a content sigh passing his lips, the clasps undone and his hair out, Rei tossed some of the heavy locks, loosening the strain and pull that was left behind from them being bound all day.

As his fingers came away from his hair, it fell in all sorts of places.

Some left behind him, other strands around his shoulders and hips.

Though not once had he stopped looking at the back of Kai's head.

Kai wiggled in his seat.

Oh god...it was very likely what he thought it was...

He cracked, throwing his head over his shoulder to a point it cricked a little before he dropped the pencil and let the chair spin around to face him.

While his face held a dumb expression, inwardly he was losing his shit.

YEESSSSSSS!

Rei fought _hard_ to not let a smile crack on his face as Kai had spun around to look at him.

"Find what you were looking for?" He asked casually, once more playing with his hair as he nodded at the bag Kai had been digging through.

Kai nodded idiotically.

"Uh huh..." he drooled as his legs carried him like a zombie on autopilot to the bed.

Finally cracking, Rei smirked where his fang showed.

This was more like it.

Hook, line, and sinker.

The horrible low self-esteem that had gripped him all day had been replaced by a rush of confidence. All thanks to his Sourpuss.

"So, where is it?" He asked as he tilted his head, noticing Kai hadn't actually gotten anything from his bag.

He was enjoying this game.

Kai's moronic expression frowned.

"Oh, I dunno..." he let out automatically. Had he been looking for something? His zombie legs turned back to go to the desk before they decided they did not care and made a U-turn. Making his way to the bed sitting on the very small space near his feet.

Rei suppressed the chuckle he felt bubbling in his gut.

He was so cute when he was flustered.

And over little old him.

"You gonna come and kiss me sometime today, or not?" he asked outright. As much fun as the game was, he figured he'd go back to being blunt.

He had to be with Kai.

Kai eyed his hair hungrily.

"Can I...touch it?"

Rei forced his face to straighten, seizing a chance to mess with him. One more time, for the road.

"No."

He hunched a little and let out a pathetic whimper.

That was _not_ fair...

"If you kiss me, I might let you." Rei smirked harder at the look on Kai's face.

Instantly, he launched himself behind Ray, sprawling himself on the bed.

He took hold of him and pulled him to roll over, feeling himself trembling again for a _way_ better reason.

"C'mere..." he breathed out desperately, needing to feel him against him. Try and get at that hair, if he let him.

Rei snickered. Now this was more like it.

"Aren't I already?" He breathed back heavier, though made no move to start. He wanted him good and starving.

He wanted Kai to take the bait he had laid out for him.

He got himself more comfortable against Kai's body with his own, his heart slamming into his chest.

Kai gripped him harder as almost every itch he'd desired all day was starting to get scratched, moving his head in to capture his lips forcefully.

A mix of a groan and a grunt slipped through Rei's throat, pushing back just as roughly.

The world could end right then and there and he wouldn't have cared.

A shiver went down his spine, doing his best not to move too much against him though every part of him wanted to.

Since he got what he wanted, he figured he should give Kai what he wanted in return.

Searching out Kai's hand he carefully placed it at the back of his head until he could feel Kai's fingers brush through his hair, letting his hand go to do it's own exploring while he put his own through Kai's hair.

Feeling the silky tresses he'd desperately wanted to touch all these years, he let out a deep moan.

This was awesome!

This was heaven!

This was...exciting.

He wondered if now was the time to break out his WikiHow...

But after all that was said about going slowly, he felt maybe he shouldn't.

Rei tensed before he relaxed, hearing Kai moan made his own slip out of him like a chain reaction.

They needed to find the breaks, before it got out of hand.

Though he didn't want to just yet, telling himself to just give it a bit longer before he pulled them apart.

He moved his mouth against Kai's a bit harder, his fingers curling in the two-toned hair.

Kai's brain fizzed to nothingness, only feeling the touches and the senses.

He lost the fight and went for it, opening his mouth a little and carefully nudging Rei's bottom lip with his tongue.

And that was when the breaks should have been pushed down, all the way down.

Yet, Rei's entire body turned to goo and his mouth opened at the gentle invitation.

Another, softer, moan rolled through him as his body twitched uncontrollably.

Kai's body quivered back, his face growing feverish.

...

Oh no. No, no...what was the next step!?

Before he had the chance to remember, Rei took over, delving his tongue past into his mouth

All the while mentally counting down till he had to pull away, find the breaks that kept getting farther and farther away from them.

Both of them tensed and relaxed simultaneously as the same thought went through their heads.

This was weird and...slimy? But somehow _really_ good...

Too good...

The alarm went off in Rei's head, forcing himself to jerk himself out of Kai's hold, their mouths breaking apart with a slight pop and somewhere, somehow, his chest was heaving hard as he tried to remember how to breathe.

Did he even have a name? Hell if he knew at the moment.

Kai lay stuck to the bed, having dissolved long ago.

His face still hot and still in awe of the sensational new discovery of tongue.

He made a pathetic noise that didn't really mean anything, it just sort of came out.

"Should um, do that thing now. Right?" Rei panted, still winded and trying to remember anything and everything.

"Wha?" Kai panted back weakly and dumbly, slapping his urges to grab him and do it all again.

Rei stared back, more at those swollen lips than anything else at the moment.

He knew they shouldn't...but...

"Do... Do you wanna do that again? 'Cus I wanna do that again, but I'll understand if you don't." His mouth moved before his brain had a chance to catch up to him.

Kai's eyes turned feral.

Lifting himself up, he pulled Rei closer and in to his lap, using his other hand to slide round the back of his head and pull him in.

Screw the assignments, to hell with anything else.

For the first time...ever, he was going to put pleasure before business.

* * *

End of Chapter 23!

I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! This one was really fun to write as well.

I'd love to know what you thought, as always! :)

Hopefully it won't be two more months til the next! I'll see you all next time!

Take care!


	24. Fireball, Burning Out

Hello, lovely readers!

I finally managed to get an update ready for you!

Job still insane and endless with drama. Adulting still crappy. Crazy Typhoons battering in to where I live.

BUT I'M STILL HEEEERE! XD

I will say, it does take a very different turn from the last chapter. But, in order to do what I want in the last legs of this story, it is necessary I feel!

I really hope you enjoy it!

As always, a huge, HUGE thank you to everyone who is still coming back and reading and to you wonderful people who leave comments. I appreciate it immensely and your comments keep me going!

Without further ado, here we go.

* * *

Chapter 24 – Fireball, Burning Out.

With the applause coming to a stop, it was official. The moment was finally here.

The awful, tense and nerve-wracking moment the whole choir had been waiting for. Practising endlessly it seemed for months.

He took a deep and quiet breath, blowing it out to steady his racing heart.

The auditorium was big...and full.

He could see the judges staring right at him.

His heart went a bit faster, making himself snap out of it and look at Dan.

The conductor. That's where he needed to be looking. Ignore everything else and focus.

Dan made eye contact and gave him a supportive smile. And suddenly, he didn't feel quite so panicked.

This would be fine. Just like rehearsals.

The familiar sound of the piano played in the intro that he'd heard a million and one times, inhaling to get ready for his cue as Dan's hands raised.

With a few more notes drifting through his ears, it was time.

His mouth opened...

And closed again...

Shit...he'd missed his cue.

The piano kept playing.

Wait, stop playing!

Why was his voice not coming out?!

What...what were the words again!?

He tried to force sound to leave his throat, but nothing came out.

The piano stopped.

Everything stopped.

The auditorium was deadly silent.

He stared panicked at Dan, whose eyes looked back just as panicked.

Why was no one else singing?!

His head shot to the sides. Where James and Scotty should have been beside him at the front.

He could have sworn they were right there a second ago!

He snapped his head around over his shoulder, where the rest of the choir should be.

The stage was empty.

What the fuck was going on!?

His head snapped back to Dan, get some answers from him.

Dan's face wasn't panicked any more.

It was disappointed and angry.

He shook his head at him, turning his back on him and making his way down the small set of stairs from his small podium before he continued on down the still silent walkway through the seats.

Kai's eyes shrank to pin dots.

Dan was leaving him...

He tried to go after him, finding his feet frozen to the floor.

Looking down, he caught sight of his casual black shoes and purple pants.

What the...?

He checked his arms, his blue school blazer covering his arms on top of a white shirt and purple tie.

He'd put the wrong pants on!?

The auditorium stopped being silent.

The first jeer broke it.

Then another.

Then a laugh.

Then a heckle.

He looked around frantically, unable to see any faces. Just hearing the mocking.

But as much as his soul was being eaten by embarrassment, his eyes went back to aisle where Dan was getting further and further away by the second.

He tried again to call out to him, not a sound leaving his throat.

He tried to move his feet, but they were planted.

He was almost out of time.

With a few more rough and frantic tugs, his feet became unstuck, his body hurtling forward.

He found his feet and leapt off the stage, the laughter and sneers getting louder as he landed on the carpeted floor below and started to run, ignoring the rows of seats that lined the way judging him.

He was half way up, catching up to him.

Out of nowhere, his foot slid under what felt like ice, flailing to keep his balance but ending up on the floor.

The laughter and jeering became deafening.

His head shot up, seeing him almost at the heavy doors.

He scrambled to get up, slipping and sliding on...what the hell was he even slipping on!?

He didn't care. He had to get to him.

Explain. Apologise.

His feet slid forward, using the tops of the chairs to steady himself as he went after him.

His eyes squinted when the doors opened, letting blinding light in to the dark auditorium.

He saw his teacher's silhouette step through.

Again, he panicked.

Digging deep, he loaded up his lungs and strained to find his voice.

" _ **Dan!"**_

His voice echoed through the enormous hall, the urgency lost and drowned among the ever loudening laughter.

But not all was lost, it seemed, because Dan turned back.

A wave of relief like he'd never felt washed over him.

His eyes adjusted well enough to the light to catch parts of his face.

And the relief was gone.

It didn't hold his dopey grin. Or his chipper smile.

It was pure disappointment.

His hand took hold of the door and started to pull it shut.

Once again, Kai was voiceless as he was left pleading with his face.

"Sorry, Kai." his voice slid out, laced in the disappointment that was written over his face, "You weren't what I thought you were..."

The door clicked shut, leaving him in pitch black, alone with the heckles and mocking that only got more deafening.

His violet eyes snapped open as he sat up in bed, eyes darting around the room as he struggled to figure out how to breathe.

He threw the cover off himself and glared at his pyjama shorts.

...His pyjama shorts.

Oh thank god, he hadn't put the wrong pants on after all...

None of it had been real...

"Kai?"

"HN?!"

 _ **JESuS FuCk!**_

"Are you all right?"

Oh right...Rei...

"I'm fine!" he fired out, feeling wired and on edge, "I remember all the words! There's still a few days!"

Rei yawned and sat himself up, rubbing his arm.

"What are you talking about?" he asked sleepily and concerned.

" _ **Whenyou're wearyyyyy, feelingsmaaaaallll, when tears areinnnn youreyyyes, I will dry them all...**_ " he sang rapidly and off key in a single breath.

He reloaded and stopped, staring at Rei's perplexed expression in the dark and felt the blood drain out his face.

...What came next?

"Uh..."

What. Came. Next?!

" _Uhhh..."_ his voice cracked.

Rei blinked a few times. It was way too early to handle this properly.

But despite the ungodly hour, it was pretty obvious.

"Of course you know it..." he tried to soothe, rubbing his arm a little harder, "Did you have a bad dream about the contest? Nerves finally kicking in?"

Kai stared blankly at him for a moment before he frowned.

Him? Nervous about a stupid _choir_ contest he wanted no part in to begin with?

It wasn't like he cared that he was going to be centre stage in front of an entire room full of eyes, singing in front of judges.

Not that he cared about fucking it up for all the other choir nerds who did care about it. Scotty included.

This was Dan Fuckin' Harris' half-witted brain child! Was no skin off his nose if he messed it all up and royally let him down.

This was some deranged plan to try and get him to integrate with his peers, make friends. 'Use his voice', emote and all that bullshit!

Making a real effort to make his life better.

Well...HE DIDN'T ASK FOR IT!

"No!" he argued back heatedly as he clambered over Rei and got himself out of bed, "I'm fine! Just busy this week is all..."

Rei rolled his eyes.

Sure...

"Well, it'll all be over before you know it. And whatever you guys place, we're all super proud of you guys. Dan especially."

Kai tensed, rummaging roughly through his drawers to find his sweat pants.

Rei arched a brow.

"What are you doing?"

"Going for a run..."

Rei checked the time on his phone.

02:13am

"Uh Kai...It's like 2am."

He emerged from the bathroom, pyjama shorts replaced with sweats.

"Wonderful. More track for me..."

Rei let out a sigh as he watched him go, too tired to stop him.

What was the point? It was Kai...

He flopped back on the bed and made himself comfy.

Maybe this was his fault, considering the little spat the evening before.

Kai really did have a lot on his plate this week...and whether he admitted it or not, he knew he was getting nervous.

And he'd gone and picked a dumb fight about telling people about them...

Now he was all crabby and defensive...

He let out another sigh.

….Why was that kind of a turn on all of a sudden?

Kai's feet slammed hard against the tarmac of the pitch black track.

His headphones blared in his ears with the same stupid song he'd been singing for what felt like an eternity.

 _'I'm on your side when times get rough.'_ was the next god damn line! How had he blanked on it!?

He struggled to mouth along as his lungs burned and worked overtime.

Damnit, he needed to run faster. His calves weren't screaming yet. And he still felt wired and jittery as all hell.

An hour and a half later, he pulled open the door to his bedroom quietly, dripping in sweat with screaming calves.

No less wired.

If anything, he felt even more restless.

He checked that Rei was still asleep, taking himself for the quietest shower he could manage.

He towel dried his hair as best he could, letting his mind run over the plethora of things he had rolling around in there, each one yelling and screaming to get his attention.

How good were the other schools in the contest going to be?

Did he get stage fright? He didn't during tournaments. A little bit of nerves, sure. But he figured if you weren't at least a little bit worried, it meant you didn't care.

But he'd never done anything like this...

And _singing_...in a _choir_. Urgh, these guys would make him look like a complete nerd!

Was he going to finish all those assignments on time?

It wasn't too far until exam time. Didn't want his perfect score tarnished...

Oh, and he had to catch up all the extra stuff Rei gave him for Chinese class...

Speaking of Rei, where was he going to take him on a date?

Did it have to be this weekend? Probably, right? Would be odd if they waited after sucking each other's faces off all week.

Not to mention, Rei was feeling like he didn't want people knowing about them. That may be true to some extent, but not in a mean way like he implied. If he didn't take him out somewhere, he'd get worried again. Maybe this would make him run for the hills...

He sighed.

When exactly did he have time to spend with Rei? Like, real time?

Last night he'd spent the evening with him discovering the wonder of tongue. But as a result, was behind already on...everything.

Shit...the deadlines were closing in faster than he thought. He'd have to do double time tonight...

After double choir practice.

Sure, when the contest was over he wouldn't have practice any more.

But he had aforementioned exams coming up...he'd be studying every free minute he had.

What was Rei supposed to do? Just sit and wait for him?

...Did he get stage fright!?

Was he going to get a god damn panic attack on stage?!

Oh god...what would he do if it happened?

It would ruin everything...He'd be humiliated.

Dan would probably make a huge fuss about it...

He stopped drying his hair.

And there it was, the biggest thing rolling around his head right this moment...

...He was never one to pry in to people's business. But not knowing was starting to really get to him.

So, was it all right to ask?

Was Dan staying, or was he going?

Would he tell him if a decision would be made?

...Was he ready for the answer?

His stomach churned on him, feeling a little sick from all the noise in his head.

He needed to sleep...he'd probably feel much better after a little rest.

He shut off the light and tiptoed his way back to the bed, carefully manoeuvring himself over the sleeping tiger to his side of the bed.

He gently shifted himself in to his comfy position, which just so happened to stare right at the back of Rei's head.

He forced himself to smirk, shifting himself closer in to Rei's back.

He'd always had Rei. He'd always been there for him. But now he _really_ had Rei.

He didn't have _anything_ to worry about...everything was _fine._

He gripped on to his boyfriend's baggy t-shirt.

...If Rei broke up with him, what the fuck was he going to do!?

At 7am, the alarm went off.

Rei groaned and cracked his eyes open, mindlessly swiping his hand at the clock to shut it off.

He arched his back and lifted his arms over his head to stretch, half his face disappearing under the covers a little as a strangled sound came out his throat.

He rolled over.

"Mornin'..."

"Morning..."

Rei's eyes opened at the droning tone and frowned.

Kai's eyes looked exhausted. The dark circles underneath them coming through.

He finally recalled the random, middle of the night freak out.

"Did you...did you actually go for a run!?"

"Mmhmm..." he nodded.

"And did you get to sleep again after?"

He shook his head.

"Nope..." he grumbled out.

Rei felt his forehead, concerned.

He didn't know why he thought he might have a fever, it just seemed the right thing to do.

"You going to be all right? Long day ahead..."

Kai rolled his already stinging eyes.

"I'll be fine. I got like 3 hours. More than enough."

Normally that would be true. He'd had his fair share of sleepless nights before. He'd gotten quite used to them when he was touring around the world for tournaments. Jet-lag always did come to bite him in the ass.

But he was no pussy. He always could power through.

He had to admit it though, he felt _tired_.

Rei's concern didn't falter. But really, what could he do?

Maybe sneak him a Thermos of coffee from the teacher's lounge?

"Just...take it easy today, if you can."

"Hn. Noted."

The trademark sound sent a shiver down Rei's spine.

Maybe it was wrong, considering the restless night...

But the pulls of new romance were still raging.

"Or how about this?" he asked with as flirtatious of a voice as he could muster this soon after waking up, tracing his finger over Kai's... _ridiculous_ arm muscles... "When you're all done for the day...I'll help you get niiiice and relaxed..."

He smirked as tired eyes seemed to wake up, the redness from his eyes lowering in to his face.

"You...you will?"

"Mmhmm...now you have something to look forward to to help get you through the day." he smirked.

Kai forced a smile.

He'd have to break it to him later he had too much work to do...

He picked himself out of bed and took himself to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

As the door shut, Rei sighed.

He really was looking kinda off today.

After such a great evening spent tongue wrestling, too...

He guessed there had been that spat before that...

The contest coming up.

The argument and cold shouldering they'd had before the school trip.

The school trip had been pretty draining for him probably, doing all the...sexy...physical labor...and getting covered in mud...

He was probably just overtired. A little frazzled.

Until the contest was over at least, there wasn't much he could do for him, was there?

He sure as hell couldn't help him with his school work. Or his singing.

He could make out with him some more, and would.

But in his eyes, what he needed was a chill out, some laughs, a bit of fun. And not just with him, here, in this same room where all his homework and not much else was.

He meant kind of low-key relaxing they'd had with Scotty and Reuben on the trip. Just chatting, being silly together. Talking about stuff they liked!

So what, he knew jack about Marvel! Reuben's geekiness spanned wider. He was in to Sherlock like Kai, too! They could talk about it!

Scotty was cool, too. Surely they had something in common.

Wouldn't know unless they spent some time together and talked.

An idea popped in his head.

Maybe getting Kai to hang out after a full day of classes, choir and homework was too much.

But what if there just so happened to be a small slot of free time in the middle of the day where most normal people sat, ate and chatted with friends...?

He smirked again and got out his phone.

Thirty minutes later, Kai was in his god forsaken seat in his classroom.

Today was going to suuuuuckkkk...

His eyes were already burning and he had a dull ache in his head.

It would be around ten hours or so until he could crawl back to his room...

That seemed like a full blown eternity...

The door slid open, followed by a blinding grin.

"Gooooooooood morning, gentlemen!"

Kai tensed hard and felt his stomach churn again.

He sank in to his seat as his effervescent teacher listed off the morning announcements.

He wasn't exactly sure why listening to him talk about 2nd and 4th period getting switched stung like it did.

But, it did.

"Annnnnd that's all...I think? Oh! Whoops! I forgot to take attendance!"

Kai smirked and rolled his eyes as he let out an involuntary snort.

Evvvvverrryy morning...

Idiot...

He sighed and deflated a little more.

"Adam?"

"Here!"

"Scotty?"

"Here!"

"Kai?"

"Here..."

Dan lifted his head at the quiet, miserable voice and raised a brow.

Talk about a mood swing...

What happened to scarily happy Kai from yesterday?

He had been like the ocean yesterday!

Terrifying and unsettling but wondrous to behold!

Maybe it was just a sucky morning. He'd see how he was come sixth for music...

He shuddered.

He ought to warn the other teachers though, brace them for potentially troubled and choppy waters...

He finished up his morning duties just in time for the bell.

All riiiiight, coffee time!

He jauntily bid his kids a good day and got the hell out a minute before the Social Studies teacher walked in.

And so began another day at St. Tristan's...

He tried to stay focussed...

But eventually, he stopped taking notes and stared at the half finished sentence while he wobbled the pen between his two fingers.

It wouldn't be so bad if Dan left, would it?

Would be weird at first, no doubt. Like maybe getting a nubbin removed...After being in your face and annoying for such a long time, would be odd if it suddenly wasn't there any more.

Teachers came and went though...he'd find a new normal soon enough...

Besides, he had Rei he reminded himself.

And that was amazing.

It was just...different.

The trial was going to be happening at some point in the near future, too...

He kinda had it in his head that Dan would be there when it did.

...He'd picked out a song to do car-aoke to on the way back once Voltaire got what he'd deserved.

 _The Clash – I Fought the Law._

He knew Dan would get a kick out of that. Could already picture him air drumming in the driver's seat and putting on a bad English accent.

Hell, he would too.

 _'Breakin' rocks in the, hot sun! I fought the law and the law won!'_

He'd like to see that old fucker break a lot more than just rocks...

"Page 37, Mr. Hiwatari..." his teacher's slightly irate voice interrupted as a finger stabbed at page 34.

Shit, right, Social Studies...

A few hours of fleeting attention spans, the bell for lunch drilled through the air, gaining an audible sigh of relief from Kai.

Thank God. An hour of peace, quiet...and maybe a nap.

He started packing his math books away, only to stop and look up as a presence approached.

Two, actually.

Scotty and Reuben seemed to loom over him, looking at him expectantly.

"Uh...yes?" he asked as he cocked a brow.

Reuben bounced on the balls of his feet, looking more hyped up than after the smores on the trip.

"You ready!?"

The brow cranked higher.

"For what?"

"Lunch, duh! Heh, wow, you really are sleepy today, aren't ya!?"

Kai's brow twitched.

What fresh hell was this?

The sliding doors opened.

Perfection entered.

"Hey! You guys ready?" a fanged smile asked casually.

He smirked harder as he caught the slight glare from his now boyfriend.

"Yeh!" Reuben exclaimed excitedly.

He'd been looking forward to this all morning.

Rei arched a brow at Kai.

"Are _you_ ready?"

The glare intensified.

Ooooohhhh, you beautiful bastard...

 _LIST._

 _...Temporarily._

"You didn't mention anything about this..." he replied as normally as possible without showing his annoyance.

"Didn't I? My bad...I guess I'll do it now. Thought it would be fun if the _four_ of us had lunch together."

"Have you ever even been in the canteen?" Scotty asked, "I swear I've never seen you eat there."

Kai opened his mouth.

"Yeh! Neither have I!" Reuben interrupted.

Kai opened his mouth again.

"Well then, let's get going before all the decent seats are taken." Rei smiled, gently pulling Kai's arm to get him out his seat.

"I-"

"Got somewhere more important to be?" Rei asked innocently, but with his challenge clear.

Kai stayed quiet.

Honestly, anywhere else was more important than sitting and listening to these guys yammer on.

But, if it made Rei happy...

He gave a silent nod in defeat, mourning his quiet lunch hour in the library.

In the bustling canteen of St. Tristan's, waves of blue jackets and purple ties gave off a muddled symphony of male voices that echoed and bounced off the brick walls.

Cutlery clattered against plates, chatter and laughter ensued as the tables were soon settled in to.

A quartet of boys stepped in, gaining some interest among the masses as a mysterious yet well known face entered.

Another member of class 1-4 nudged his friend.

"...Hey! It's Kai!"

The other looked up.

"Oh shit, it is! Aw, Reub looks stoked. Glad he finally came round."

Other members of different classes nudged their friends.

"Isn't that Kai?"

"Yeh. So?"

"You ever seen him in here before?"

"Huh...No actually."

"Yo, isn't that Kai?"

"Yeh. Finally graced us mortals with his presence..."

"Heh, right...You catch the last beyblade tournament?"

"Nah, I didn't actually..."

"Ah man, he was incredible! Rei too! But that's how he ended up on those crutches! Battle wound! Ended up getting a busted ankle after being thrown out of the ring, Kai stepped in and kicked the other guy's ass! It was so good!"

Kai tensed as he felt eyes lock on to him.

He could swear he heard his name among the loud voices of the hall's numerous conversations.

The hall suddenly felt enormous. Endless. And yet claustrophobic at the same time.

He ignored it and walked behind the others. It was just lunch in a cafeteria for God's sake...

His eyes betrayed him and looked around.

It felt like he had hundreds of eyes staring back at him.

He could _swear_ he could hear people talking about him.

He heard laughing, but was that aimed at him!?

The felt the hall get draped in hostility.

Every sound became so much sharper and louder.

The walls felt like they were starting to close in.

Despite having space between him and the people around him, he felt like a sardine in a can

And after one more time of hearing someone utter his name, a shock wave rippled from the base of his skull down to his toes.

And once again, he was paralysed by a crippling sense of panic.

"Tuesday is one of the best days! They do fried chicken!" Reuben informed cheerfully to his new found best friend before looking over his shoulder and stopping.

"Kai?"

Scotty and Rei looked over their shoulders as well, Rei immediately feeling panicked himself.

He hobbled quickly over to him, not too fast as to attract any attention.

As he approached him, he saw the sweat and the paleness. The trembling.

The inability to breathe.

Shit...

His violet eyes stared back at him, terrified.

" _Gimme out_..." his voice wobbled quietly.

"Okay, okay." Rei replied calmly and just as quietly, "But listen, I have crutches so I'm going to need Scotty and Reuben to help us out, all right?"

Kai shook his head at him rigorously.

"I know...I know you don't want them to...but if you want to get out of here quickly, we're going to need them. It's fine, I promise..." Rei tried to reason.

"Everything all right?" Scotty asked as he and Reuben came up to them, looking confused and concerned.

Rei put on his most natural smile and lowered his voice.

"Be cool, but Kai's having a panic attack. We need to get him out of here, but don't want to cause a scene. Do you think you could take his arm and help him along?"

Scotty and Reuben's expressions fell as his eyes looked over Kai.

The extra attention made Kai's chest constrict even more.

No...they were seeing this. It wouldn't be long before everyone else did.

There were so many people...

His chest did horrible things. His heart more out of control.

What was this?! This wasn't like the other times, was it!?

 _Oh god! This was bad! This was really bad this time!_

Rei heard the breaths become more erratic.

"Now. Please? Scotty, you're bigger. Would you mind?"

Scotty nodded, ignoring the questions he had and the worry to jump in and gently turn him round, taking his arm as carefully as he could like he was asked.

"Come on. Let's get you out of here..."

Kai's stiff yet gelatinous legs inched forward, feeling the room spin.

This was his worst nightmare...

Everyone was looking...he could feel it.

Everyone was seeing this.

His chest really started to hurt, his heart feeling like it was about to give out.

This was bad...really bad...

His knees started to give out, making Scotty stop and get a firmer grip.

Reuben slid under his other side and got his shoulder under his.

The two friends quickened their pace to get him the hell out as quick as possible.

They made it out the doors and turned for Rei, soon behind them.

"Now what?" Scotty asked.

Rei looked around. Fucked if he knew...he sucked at this!

"Um...anywhere quiet round here?"

"There's an old art classroom that no one uses just down here!" Scotty fired out, already hoisting him back out and heading over.

As they slid the creaky old door open, Scotty flipped the lights and helped him over to the heavy wooden table that stretched across the front of the classroom. He and Reuben took hold their shaking classmate and lifted him to sit on it.

As soon as he was sat, their panic stricken friend yanked his arms out their hold and got more worked up.

Rei threw himself in front of him.

"Hey...it's all right. Come on. You've been through this before, you know it's going to pass." He tried to comfort.

Kai's hands suddenly grabbed hold of Rei's wrists, trembling despite the tight grip.

Rei met his petrified eyes.

"T-this one'sdiff-different!" his distraught voice forced out.

"What do you mean different?"

"My chest! My chest h-hurts! Can't breathe!"

It was Rei's turn to feel terrified.

Was this different?!

"It's all right...I promise you're OK...breathe for me."

He had to keep it together. First things first, do like Dan did that time and loosen his tie and top button.

...Actually, they should probably go get him.

"Can one of you go get Dan, please?" Rei called over his shoulder.

Scotty and Reuben blinked.

"Who?!"

Rei huffed impatiently as he fiddled with Kai's stubborn top button.

"Dan! How many Dan's do you know?!"

They blinked again, flustered that they still didn't know who the hell they were supposed to get.

"I have a cousin Daniel! That's it!" Reuben screeched hopelessly.

Rei rolled his eyes, finally able to get it undone.

"Oh my god...HARRIS! Go get Mr. Harris!"

The penny dropped.

"OOOOOOOH! On it!"

Reuben summoned the lightning speed of Quick Silver that he'd discovered during their school trip and took off out the door.

Scotty stood helpless and watched Rei try and calm him down. Kai making distressed and pained sounds as he kept insisting something was wrong with his chest.

This was horrible...

What was wrong with him?!

It had only been a couple of minutes max, but it felt like an eternity for Dan to arrive.

"Heeeey!" he greeted as he sauntered in, like he usually would, "What's going on over here?"

"He says his chest hurts, Mr. Harris!" Scotty informed him frantically as Reuben latched on to him.

Dan hopped up on the table next to him.

"That right, buddy?"

Kai's clammy face turned from Rei to look at him.

"Mmm..."

"Same as the other times, remember? Nothing bad is gonna happen. Let's just ride it out..."

" 'S notthesame!" he cried at him hysterically.

Dan gently put his hand on his back and rubbed it.

"Whoooa, yes it is. Maybe it's just a bigger one. But I promise it's just a panic attack, it'll all be over soon. Trust me."

An idea smacked Rei in the face. The time in the elevator. It really helped him to breathe with him.

How had it taken this long to remember that?!

He craned Kai's hand off his wrist and brought it to his own chest like he had before.

"In and out, remember? Follow me."

Dan gave a small, warm smile.

Rei was a keeper...

If only they'd hurry up and do something!

His eyes wandered over to Scotty and Reuben, and the feels kept coming.

Bless, they looked terrified.

"Say, you ever thought about joining the track team, Reu?"

Reuben blinked.

Why now?!

"No! Why!?"

Dan eyed him to chill out.

"Cause you sure got some speed on you. Noticed it on the trip. Just now too, was like the Flash coming down the halls."

Reuben scoffed.

Quick Silver...but whatever, he was old. He got some points for knowing the Flash, he guessed.

"I've never really thought about it...not really in to sports or nothin'."

"He can't even do a push up." Scotty added, following Dan's lead.

"SHUT UP!"

"What? You can't!"

"Well...Kai was gonna show me how! So laugh it up while you can!"

Dan raised a brow, but bubbled with pride.

"That so?" he asked as he turned his attention back to Kai, "Well, you'd be learning from the best. Doesn't look like you ever miss arm day, do ya buddy? Got arms like the terminator...Come on, embarrass us, how many do you think you can do at once?"

Scotty felt his own knees weaken as he remembered those guns in the flesh...

And the rest.

Such prowess...

Kai's eyes were torn between looking at Rei's chest and Dan.

"I-I don't _know!_!"

Rei smirked.

"Oh, please! Since when don't you want to show off? He used to make us do them until we physically couldn't do any more. Max and Tyson always hit the ground after 50 or so and he'd be still going like a machine, not even breaking a sweat all like _**'you guys are a disgraaaaaace!'**_ " he mimicked.

Kai smirked through his panting.

"They we-re. But you, alway-s kept up..."

Rei smirked back.

"I did. Because I'm awesome. But that never stopped you being stubborn and outdoing me, did it, you jerk?"

Dan chuckled. Sounded about right.

His hand continued to run up and down Kai's back. Looked like he was starting to come out of it.

Atta boy...

"Hey Scotty, you play any sports?"

As the chatter continued, Rei never took his eyes off Kai, who never took his eyes off him.

Rei kept breathing for him, feeling all kinds as Kai copied and seemed to be calming.

Reuben looked and listened between his teacher and Scotty talking about soccer a little more before he glanced to check on his newfound best friend.

Ahh! Thank God! It was over, it seemed!

He could breathe again at least.

His hand came away from Rei's chest and rubbed over his sweat matted face.

"You all right?" Reuben asked carefully.

Kai tensed as he brought his hand off his face.

In an instant, the weird veil that was put over his head, the one that was convinced something very wrong was happening, like he might die or something, was gone.

He'd been a complete idiot in front of too many people.

Of course he wasn't having a heart attack...

But he'd really thought...

And the two of them had watched he whole thing.

He felt humiliated.

He slid off the table and moved himself around Rei.

Oooohhh boy...if he wasn't wiped before, he was now.

"Fine." he bit as he put his head down and stormed his way out the room as best he could.

Rei felt a slam of guilt as he watched him go.

That had been all his fault...

He'd only wanted him to warm to these two. Widen his social circle and make some friends. Widen his support network.

He hadn't expected this to happen...

"What happened?" Dan's voice asked gently as he looked around the three boys.

Reuben looked guilty as all hell too for some unknown reason.

"We brought him to have lunch with us in the canteen. Next thing we knew he went like that!"

Dan nodded.

He had an idea of what triggered it then.

"What's wrong with him!?" Reuben asked, riddled with worry.

His newfound best friend! His poor newfound best friend!

He knew he was having problems. Somehow Giles knew about it and had been a dick about it, making jabs and writing on his picture like he had.

But he'd had no idea what.

Dan sighed and pushed himself off the table.

"It isn't my place to tell you exactly what. But I think what you just saw gives you a rough idea. I trust you boys will be discreet and not make a big deal about it."

Reuben shook his head frantically.

How _dare_ he insinuate he'd do such a thing to his newfound best friend!

"Of course we won't!"

Dan smirked.

"I know. Just checkin'. I'll go find him. You boys better go get ready for class. Only ten minutes left. And Rei, you got class. I think it goes without saying he might not be there."

Rei nodded, feeling a green tinge get added to his guilt.

 _He_ wanted to go after Kai. Be his knight in shining armour.

But he was doing a terrible job at it...

And he did have to teach next...

Better to let the _hero_ do it...

"And I'm really proud of you boys. You all did a wonderful job taking care of him. He's embarrassed you saw him like that, but I'm sure deep down he really appreciates it."

Dan made his way out the room, watched by the others.

Rei debated with himself. But he knew it was best for Kai to tell him.

"You guys hold on a sec..." he ordered as he hobbled off after Dan.

"Mr. Harris!"

The older man turned.

"Yeh?"

Rei hobbled to catch up with him.

"I think I should tell you something."

"Oh?"

"Yeh...see, last night, I think around 2a.m..."

Dan listened to Rei's story and felt his heart sink.

He had a bad dream about the contest it seemed, went off about not remembering the words, went for a middle of the night run!? Came back and lay awake all night.

Oh, hey! That meant Rei crashed in Kai's room then.

Looks like things really were back to normal. Friends again after all that drama back on the trip. That was good at least.

"Thanks for telling me Rei, I'll go talk to him..."

They parted ways.

Now he had to find him...

He had a few ideas where he could be.

One of three, he guessed.

His room. The library. The music room.

Judging by how wiped he looked, he guessed the closest one.

He slid the door of the music room open and scanned the room, clocking two toned hair.

BOOM!

He was magical!

Fine figure of a man with impeccable women's intuition!

Nothing got past Daniel F. Harris. _Nothing_.

His Fireball had perched himself on the edge of the small stage with his head in his hands.

"Go away." his blunt, muffled voice seeped through his hands.

Dan slid the door shut and strolled over to him, taking a seat beside him.

"That was a big one...Too many people, huh?" he asked sympathetically as he leaned back on his hands.

Kai's head snapped up out his hands looking fired up in a split second.

"No! It was just a stupid cafeteria! I don't know why it happened! I've been in front of stadiums full of people and been fine!" he fired at him.

Dan shrugged.

"Isn't a stadium different? I mean, with that many people, it's not like you can really see them. Not that it isn't daunting...just. Maybe cause everyone was more close up?"

Kai huffed. He didn't need this...

"I said I don't know!"

Dan nodded.

"...You didn't look so hot this morning either." he pried.

Kai squirmed.

"I just didn't sleep well. Nothing to get all freaked out about."

"Something on your mind?"

Kai growled.

There was a whole list. Not that he'd tell him that, though.

"What did I just say!? Don't do that! Don't make a big deal about nothing!"

"I'm not making a big deal. Was a simple question"

Kai's fuse blew.

"Well don't! Get off my back! It's bad enough the entire god damn school just saw...that! I told you it was only a matter of time before it happened! And what if it happens during the contest or something!? Or during an exam!? I hate this! When is it going to stop!?"

Dan let out a sigh, not even flinching at his outburst.

"If it happens during the contest, we take you off stage. If it happens during an exam, we take you out the room. It's that simple. I don't really understand your fixation on people knowing. Isn't it better that people do? The more that know, the more that can help you if and when it happens."

Kai rolled his glistening eyes.

"Oh, don't be moronic! Like hell you wouldn't feel the same if it were you!"

Dan gave a small nod.

"Yeh, I don't know how I'd feel cause it isn't me. You're right. But doesn't mean an outsider opinion isn't valid. Let me turn the tables then, if you were sitting having lunch and you saw that happen to someone, get taken out by his friends, how would you react?"

Kai blinked.

How would he react?

"Probably wonder if they were OK?"

"And then what? Make fun of them? Hunt that person down and make them feel miserable?"

"No!"

"Exactly. So what makes you think anyone would do that to you? What makes you think anyone who saw isn't just wondering if you're all right? I know Scotty and Reuben are worried sick about you."

Kai folded his arms.

"Well they needn't bother! I'm fine!"

Dan rolled his eyes.

This wasn't getting old at all...

"Whatever you say. But I'm going to write you a note to excuse you for the afternoon. Go rest up."

Kai scoffed.

"Thanks, but I'm fine! I can't miss any more of Rei's classes anyway. Already behind. Can't miss yours either. And I definitely can't miss choir practise."

"Why not?"

"What do you mean why!? Contests! Exams!"

"Exams are still over a month away, Kai. You can take one afternoon off..."

"ASSIGNMENTS!"

"Hey!" Dan silenced, "Look, every teacher knows how hard working you are. Every teacher knows you've got a lot going on and your situation. Every teacher here is willing to be flexible with your deadlines. I thought you knew this?! This is what I'm talking about! The more people that know, the easier things will be!"

Kai sighed, annoyed. He really didn't want to sit here and argue about this with him.

"We have a contest Friday. That alone is reason why I'm not going to take off. I'm not about to start slacking now!"

Dan's hand flew out, gripping his cheeks with his thumb and forefinger and squished them together to shut him up.

And for his own amusement of giving him fish lips...

"Kai! For god's sake! Stop it!" he scolded softly, "I don't care about the contest! I care about you! Your health is a bazillion times more important than a damn contest!"

Kai pulled his face out his grip and stared at him, chest clenching.

He opened his mouth to protest again.

"You dare..." Dan warned.

"...But there's only a few days left!"

Dan rolled his eyes.

What did he just s-.

Nevermind...

"Yes, you can...and I insist you do."

"But-"

"AHBUHBUH!"

Kai jumped at the loud...weird sound he just made.

Dan looked around and put on his grin, picking himself up and strutting to his second...maybe joint first, love...

Le piano...il piano... _das Klavier_

Ahhh yes. It had been a while since he thought about how stupidly difficult German was. Hence why what he'd learned in his time studying there had decayed to dust in the deep cobwebs of his brain.

But anyway...

"C'mere..." he instructed as he sat himself down.

Kai rolled his eyes.

Trust him to fuck around with his piano...

He huffed and staggered his way over, sitting on the piano stool where Dan was patting his hand for him to sit.

Once he was sat, Dan dramatically put his hands on the keys.

"Quiz time! Name that tunnnneee!"

Kai rolled his eyes again and listened. Knowing instantly as the sound hit his ears.

"Pff. Easy. Chopin, Nocturne op.9 number 2..."

Dan was impressed. But then again, his boy was one big old nerd.

"Yehhh! Our boy Chopin!" he beamed as he kept playing.

Man, it had been fun playing that other together the other week...him on piano, Kai on _le violon, il violin,_ DIE _GEIGE!_

…Why, German...?

But anyway...

"You know, once when I was...about your age actually, I think. I had a recital. This was the piece I chose to play..."

Kai arched a brow and waited. He'd rather listen to the music, but whatever...

"Anyway, the top three pianists would be awarded a chance to play in _France_. Obviously I wanted to be one of the top three. Who wouldn't? There were some 'masterclasses' and stuff included. Ah man, it was all I could think about for months."

Kai's impatient expression changed to one that was genuinely interested, the music narrating along with him.

"So, I picked Chopin. Him being French and all seemed like a good choice, plus has always been my favorite."

Kai shifted in his seat.

His too...

"Felt this particular one would show off some skill and give me an edge. I practised every minute I could. Drove my parents nuts." he chuckled. "I had it down. Perfect. Note for note. Tone was perfection. But then it got closer and closer to the big day. I practised even more than I had before. I even was awake at stupid o'clock in the morning sat at the piano mime playing it, just playing it in my head. And that's when I started fucking up...my hands weren't doing what I'd been training them to do. I was missing notes out, tempo was going off...so I practised even more..."

Kai blinked and waited. Then what?!

"The day came, I went on the stage and took my bow without puking in my dumb little bow-tie. Sat my butt down and put my hands on the keys...annnnnndddd completely froze..."

Kai's eyes widened, cringing hard as he pictured it.

Oh God...the _horror_!

This was exactly what he was afraid of! It did happen to people! Happened to Dan! _Dan_ didn't freeze, he was a cocky asshole with the skill to justify it! Like him with beyblading! Look at him! He was currently trying and failing to have a deep conversation right now while playing a classical masterpiece magnificently without even having the music in front of him!

This idiot was a genius!

"Needless to say, I didn't make top three. And it was my own damn fault. Of course every musician needs to practise and be disciplined, but any musician, anyone for that matter, needs to know when they're starting to burn out. Know when to take a break. Learned that the hard way..." he chuckled, "And that was me alone on stage! You're going to have a whole group of people behind you. If you stutter, or forget the words, just take a breath and regroup and come back in when you can. It'll be fine."

Kai huffed and prepared to argue back.

"You know what's funny though?" Dan interrupted, "Years later at college I picked this piece again for another recital. Right around the time Charlotte and I started dating. I practised and everything, but she dragged me out and away from the piano. Had some fun. When the day came, I think that was the best I'd ever played it. Knocked their damn socks off! Got me my place in Berlin! I even ended up playing in France and Italy too. Guess that time when I was 16 just wasn't the right time for me."

Kai flushed scarlet.

Now why did that sound so relevant?

...Should he ask Dan where he took Charlotte on their first date? Get some ideas?

Pfff, _**of course not!**_ He'd smell the relationship on him!

Plus he didn't want to take relationship advice from _Dan_!

Back to the point.

"Hn. I am not burning out if that's what you're implying..."

Dan snorted. Giving a few seconds to finish the piece and take his hands off the keys.

"I think you are a little..." he started, turning to look at him, "and when you look at it, I think the signs have been starting to show for a while. It isn't really surprising. Been a hectic few months...not to mention the choir on top of that." he added guiltily, "If I'd have known it would have added as much as it has, I wouldn't have pushed you in to it...I'm sorry."

Kai did a double take.

Did he just apologise?!

He was...not expecting that.

It caught him completely off guard.

"It's fine?"

"I just wanted to help you..."

That caught him off guard, too.

The invisible club smashed against his chest again.

"...Why?"

Dan huffed a laugh.

"What do you mean 'why'? Would have been a horrible career choice if I didn't care about my students!"

Kai sank and nodded.

"Besides, I've never had such a..."

Pain in the ass.

Rude.

Stubborn.

Infuriating.

Defiant.

Disrespectful.

Angry.

Awesome.

Sad.

Troubled...

" _Fireball_ of a student before. You were chosen to be in class 1-4, I was chosen to be 1-4's homeroom teacher. Therefore, I was chosen to handle your fiery ass. Destined to tame the beaast!" He exclaimed dramatically in jest...

Despite the playful voice, Kai felt his eyes start to sting and water.

At the nickname he was scared he'd lose.

At the sentiment what he just said had, even if it was meant in joke.

He couldn't take it any more.

"And uh...Are you...?"

He stopped, his throat not letting him finish the question.

Why? Why couldn't he just ask him outright.

 _Are you staying or going?_

He felt Dan's eyes on him.

"Are you sure it's all right to take the afternoon off?"

Dan's face softened and nodded.

This was more like it.

"Yes! Please do! Go get some sleep! Relax!"

Kai nodded quickly, pushing himself up off the stool, thanking him quickly and booking it out the music room before he cracked.

He made it up to his dorm without interruptions, throwing off his jacket and tie lazily and flopping on the bed.

He head rolled around relentlessly. Conjuring up theories.

With only a month or so to go until the term was over, there was no way Dan didn't know if he was heading out or not.

Which meant he just wasn't telling him.

If he wasn't telling him, it meant he probably was trying to keep it from him until the last minute. Like the other students. As was policy.

If he was staying, he'd probably just tell him. Get on with life since nothing was changing.

Which meant...it was very likely that...

He stared at the patterns in the ceiling, watching them blur as his eyes loaded up and streamed silently.

The bell went, ending fifth period.

Rei gathered his books and hobbled as fast as he could back to the staff room, just as Dan was getting ready to go to his class.

"Is he all right?!"

"Yeh, I think he'll be fine after a little rest. Wrote him off for the afternoon. In his room if you wanna go see him."

Rei immediately turned on his one good heel and flung himself through the halls and up the dreaded stairs.

He slowly turned the handle and let himself in.

"Kai?"

His face fell when he saw him on his bed, clearly upset.

"Hey...what's the matter?" he asked as he hobbled inside, pushing the door closed.

Kai rubbed over his face to try and clean it up.

"Nothing, Rei. Just tired..."

Rei fought his eye roll. That was probably true. But Kai didn't shed tears over being tired.

"Don't give me that..." he scolded as he sat on the edge of the bed, shuffling along to push Kai out of his self-assigned side of the bed and made himself comfy.

He was about to ask again, when pale hands instantly reached over him and climbed up in to his side.

This was a first...

He shifted down to get in to a better and comfier position for both of them, guiding Kai to put his head on his chest, reaching his arm around to go at the dark hair at the back of his head.

"Tell me..."

There were only a few moments of quiet.

"I _hate_ this!"

Rei rest his head on the top of his.

"I know..."

"Yesterday I felt really good...so why am I like this today?!"

Rei listened to him vent. About the day, about other things that popped in his head as he went on tangents.

He couldn't help but feel a little stunned.

For once, he hadn't put up a big fight about telling him. And this time it was absolutely pouring out of him.

Which weirdly made Rei feel really happy.

The resistance between him asking what the matter was and getting the answer was gradually getting smaller and smaller.

He hadn't really thought about the progress there. But now that'd taken a moment to, it was dramatic.

Kai had even flat out said he needed him the night they kissed.

Maybe he was doing something right by him...

There really wasn't a huge amount he could do for Kai, his panic attacks, his worries or his problems. All he could do was be there when he needed and do his best to support him through it.

Like listening to him just let it all out for once, like now.

"And this fucking choir thing! I can't believe I thought if I tried hard and managed to do good job that maybe-."

He caught himself, pulling on the reigns of his huge tirade that had spewed out of him.

Rei frowned at the sudden stop and looked down, getting a nose full of slate hair.

"That maybe what?"

Kai tensed. He wasn't supposed to say anything to any one. He'd promised he'd keep it to himself.

But it was killing him.

He lifted himself off Rei's chest to look at him.

"It's a secret still..." he sniffed, "so you can't say anything to anyone."

Rei waited, the anticipation rising.

Secret?

"I uh...I went to talk to Dan a while back at his room. Went to ask him about the doctor I'm going to now. I knocked off a bunch of papers and helped him clean up..."

Rei heard his voice starting to wobble. But couldn't yet guess the reason for the upset.

"I didn't mean to look, was just kind of there...but there was a form and..."

Rei grew concerned at the ever straining voice and the his eyes welling up.

"Dan's leaving..." he spat out before he cracked.

Rei's eyes went wide.

"What!?"

"Mr. H-Harris. He's _transferring_ -" he hiccuped before he broke.

Rei didn't know what to do. He did what he instinctively felt, which was to grab him and hug him again.

That really set him off...

His heart broke for him.

That couldn't be right...

Dan wouldn't just up and leave him like that. Kai had to have gotten the wrong end of the stick...

Right?

...Then again, teachers did transfer and shift around. He knew that much.

He remembered when Tyson's teacher, Ms Kincaid left for another school. Hilary had been pretty upset, Tyson too.

But this was completely different. This wasn't a teacher leaving.

This was _Dan_ leaving...

And not that there was ever a good time for that, but his timing couldn't be worse!

He had no idea what to say. What could he say to this that would comfort him?

He knew what Dan was to him...

For once he was completely lost for words, and maybe it was for the best.

Maybe he needed to just let it all out first. Could talk a bit more later once he'd calmed down.

He held him, rubbing circles on his back and ignoring the wet patch forming on his shirt.

He'd seen Kai shed tears before. But not like this...

He lay lost in his own thoughts, trying to figure it out with the tiny information he had.

Eventually he noticed the sniffles and crying fading until they had pretty much stopped.

He cranked his neck to try and look at him.

He guessed tiredness finally won. He was asleep.

He let out a deep sigh.

Why was there always something?

No wonder he was starting to crack under it all.

But he never thought in a million years that Dan would hurt him like that...

His curiosity couldn't wait. He had to know what was going on.

He carefully slid himself out from under Kai, making sure he was still out for the count.

Picking up his crutches, he left the room as quietly as he could and head back down the dreaded stairs yet again.

...He'd always felt bad for being somewhat jealous of Mr. Harris. Seeing him as some kind of adversary for Kai's trust.

But he was seeing more and more that it wasn't a competition. He knew the bond he and Kai had was far different from what he and Mr. Harris had.

But the bonds were essentially made of the same stuff. Just different versions. Both incredibly important.

His amber eyes slit.

 _And he was just going to ditch him?!_ After _everything?!_

No one hurt Kai like that and got away with it...

But he wasn't altogether unreasonable. First he had to have Harris look him in the eye and tell him what was going on...

He'd tiger claw that dopey grin right off his face if it was what Kai said it was!

* * *

End of Chapter!

I hope you enjoyed it!

Like I said at the start, this was a very different tone from the previous chapter. But like I've said before, the goal has never been to have Kai and Ray get together and everything be fine and dandy.

BUT, I assure you, dear readers, the love-sick babies will be back. This chapter was a slight detour.

Thank you for reading, and as always I would absolutely love to know your thoughts on it!

See you next time! :)


	25. I'm On Your Side, When Times Get Rough

Hello everyone!

I managed to get an update ready for you pretty quick! So happy it didn't take months this time!

Thank you so, so much to all of you who read and left me comments! You guys are the best!

So, this chapter is a little shorter than they have been recently, and honestly its one of those chapters where I had ideas for direction and what not, but once I got typing, things just happened.

I'm happy with it, I just hope you all are XD.

As you might be able to tell from the last two chapters, I'm doing like a 'day-by-day countdown' to the contest now that it's so close, which is why the chapter is a little shorter.

I'll just...just let you guys read. I really hope you like it! Here we go!

* * *

Chapter 25 – I'm On Your Side, When Times Get Rough

Rei hobbled like a mad man through the halls and back to the teachers room.

He swore to God, if Dan didn't have something good to say, he'd maul his dopey ass!

How could he abandon Kai?!

Give all that spiel about Kai rejecting people first in fear of rejection...

Then turning around and _REJECTING HIM!_

That piano-playing, grin wearing snake!

Give alllllll those speeches about how poor little Dan had tried soooo hard to get Kai on his side just to toss him aside the moment he did!

Was he even aware how much Kai admired and looked up to him!?

...Was Kai even aware?

That wasn't the point.

RAGE! RAGGGE!

He threw the door to the teachers room opened and leapt in, scanning for his prey.

Mr. Simmons caught sight of him...

...and the slit eyes and fangs sticking out.

"You uh...you all right there, Rei?" he asked timidly with a bead of sweat forming.

"I'm looking for Mr. Harris!" he growled out.

Tim let out a sigh of relief.

Oh good, the angry eyes were for Dan. He was safe.

"He's in class right now!" he told him, "If you wait like, fifteen minutes, he should be back!"

With a swish of his ponytail, he charged out.

Apparently fifteen minutes was too long...

Tim blinked.

What had Dan done this time?

Ah, he'd be fine. He was the angry teen whisperer...

Meanwhile, in the music room, Dan lifted his hand and closed his fist, symbolising his budding musicians to stop.

"Guys, guys! You need to listen to each other! J.S. Bach is spinning in his grave! Exams are coming up, boys! You need to be aware of this! And violins! For the last time, will you please watch your bowing!? You two are doing the complete opposite of each other!"

Where was Kai when he needed him, huh? Would have schooled them with a single look if he saw this. Was nice to have at least one violinist who took it seriously.

 _His little maestro!_

He let out a worried sigh. He hoped he was doing all right up there...

The talk he had with him wasn't the best...in his own head, the message he wanted to get across was clear. But did Kai get it? Did it make him feel any better?

He sucked at this. He never knew what to say...

The door to the music room suddenly flew open.

"YOU!"

Dan spun around.

This felt like deja vu...

His brow lifted.

Only this time a little different.

"Rei?"

He eyed the...weird eyes and the fangs. But somehow the crutches took the edge off.

Rei snarled back at him.

"We gotta talk. _Now_!"

Dan, as well as the other students stared gormlessly.

"I'm uh...kind of teaching a class right now. Can it wait like ten minutes?"

"NO! It can't!"

Dan frowned.

He looked pissed off, but maybe it was worry, panic!

Something happen to Kai again!?

He turned to his students.

"All right boys...uh...sorry, going to have to call it a day..."

They didn't seem to mind, getting out their seats as fast as they could to pack away while Dan followed Rei out.

"What's the matter? What's wrong?" Dan asked quickly the second they got in the hall.

Rei's eyes didn't look any less menacing.

"What's wrong?! What's wrong is that your up and leaving _your little Fireball,"_ he mimicked in a less than flattering impression, "and ditching him!"

Dan jolted. Looking around frantically and waving his hands to try and silence him.

"Hey, hey! Keep it down!" he scolded in a rough whisper, "If you wanna talk about this, we need to go somewhere a little more private."

Rei cocked a defiant brow.

"Then by all means, lead the way..." he snapped in a snarky tone.

Dan gave him a look.

Urgh, Ray was supposed to be on _his_ side! Help calm the raging bull when he went off. The Kai-kryptonite!

Not...taking after him and turning in to an attitude-y little shit!

"Fine...follow me." he snipped back.

He walked down the hall to another currently unused classroom, holding the door open for the hobbling time-bomb and closing it behind him.

The moment it slid shut fully, he turned, bracing himself.

"All right..." he breathed out, "care to tell me what it is you think you know that's made you look like you want to rip my face off?" Dan asked calmly.

Rei let out a low, humming growl.

How dare he patronise him!

"You mean, apart from the fact that you're abandoning him!?"

Dan shot him an irritated look.

How dare he accuse him of that! _Twice_!

"That's _**not**_ the case and I won't have you saying it!" he shot back sternly.

The raised voice and tone set Rei off.

"Oh really?! Then what do you call it!? Mighty funny how like a month back you were stood chewing out all the teachers, all high and mighty, giving a grand speech about how _youuu_ had put in all that time, all that effort and pain of feeling his wrath because _you cared_ _**soooo**_ much and wanted to help him!" he fired out in one angry breath, "And then what?! Better offer come along?! A shinier school than _this_ called you up?! Got nicer pianos or something?!"

Dan's brow twitched as he listened, folding his arms and shifting his feet.

"Why yes, actually..."

Rei choked on the foam forming in his mouth.

"Yes to what?!"

Dan shrugged.

"All of it. I did give that _grand speech_ , as you put it. I stand by all of it. They needed to hear it and since then, they've been great about him! And yeh, I _did_ put in the time and the effort. Not asking for a medal, but I _**damn well did**_!" he yelled, "I do care and I don't like the tone from you suggesting I don't!" he spat defensively, making Rei recoil a little. He'd never heard such a tone come from him.

But Dan wasn't done.

"So what?! I'm an awful person now because somehow another school decided they wanted me? A really good school at that! Insane music programme! Better pay, better conditions, and _YES, BETTER PIANOS!_ "he screeched, "They have a Steinway, if I'm not mistaken!"

Rei's mouth gaped open a little.

...He broke him...

"You know what? I'm getting tired of this!" Dan went on, "All I wanted to do was help a student. A kid! Nobody else was stepping up, just brushed him off and complained about him. From the second I started, everything got shoved at me because no one else wanted to deal with him! I mean...I get it, but still!" he interjected, "No one offers to help while I'm running around meeting councillors, having meetings with the principle, talking to Mr. Dickenson, driving Kai around to doctor appointments, sitting with him for countless hours trying to calm him down when he blows a gasket or goes in to a panic! Trying to limit the damage and keep the peace between him and whoever the hell he comes to blows with! All the while, the papers keep piling up on my desk! The extra obligations, PTA, organising field trips, student reports, grading, the choir, my own damn class planning!" he reeled off, inhaling and reloading.

"And what do I get when an opportunity is presented to me? Crapped on from all sides it seems!" he let out with a raised voice, "Charlotte is _royally_ pissed! The principle here is pissed! The principle at the other school is getting pissed! Kai well...he's not pissed any more than usual, but he went and had another attack which just makes all this _so much harder_ , and now I have you pissed off at me too!"

Rei's pupils were back to normal now.

What the hell was happening?

Wasn't it supposed to be him tearing Dan a new one?

But wow, was he on a roll...he never pictured him going off like this.

"...Why are they pissed at you?" he asked carefully.

Dan let out a sigh and rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger and breathed out puff of air from his nose.

He'd...he'd said too much.

"Look, Rei," he started, "I don't know what Kai told you, but the truth is I honestly don't know if I'm going yet."

Rei nodded.

"Okay, but that isn't answering my question. Why are they mad at you. Doesn't make any sense?"

Dan sat himself down on one of the chairs and motioned for Rei to do the same. This could take a while...

"Well, if we go in order, Charlotte got mad that I didn't bite their hand off and take it right away-"

"Why didn't you?"

Dan narrowed his eyes at him.

"Why the hell do you think?!"

Rei nodded, feeling bad. The urge to maul getting smaller and smaller with each passing moment.

He zipped it.

"She knows all about Kai. But she's also looking at it from an outsider and a teacher's perspective. The fact is, in this job, kids do come and creep in to your heart, you do get attached to them and then they grow up and move on. Such is life. So even though she understands that he's special, she doesn't understand why I'd give up an opportunity like this for someone that, in her eyes, will graduate in a few years and be gone..."

Rei sank.

Charlotte...no...don't be like that...

"We had quite the fight about it." Dan chuckled to cover his shudder, chuckling a little more when he saw the look on Rei's face.

"Buuut, moving swiftly on, the principle here is pissed because he really wants to keep me. He likes me for whatever reason and I think he too wants to keep me here for Kai's sake. However, after some... _heated_ words between Charlotte and I, we made a compromise..."

Rei waited.

"A compromise?"

"Mmhmm..." Dan started, "Not to bore you with old people problems, but neither of us are getting younger. We're not married, don't live together...even though we've been together since...forever. She's getting tired of being apart and no steps being taken. See, the thing with this other school is, it would mean we were both teaching in the same district and were free to live in our own place. Here, its in my contract that I live on site. So, I told the principle I would stay on the condition that I could live off site...and got a _iddy biddy_ pay rise to help pay for the extra living costs..."

He took a moment to glance over at Rei,

"It really isn't as simple as whether or not I want to stay with Kai. Of course I do. But he's also not the only person who means a lot to me that I'm letting down if I don't figure something out. I'm trying my best to make everyone happy here. The ball is in the higher-up's court now. Unfortunately, they're taking their sweet time about it..."

He took the calmer air as a chance to scooch his chair along and plop himself next to Rei.

"But look, whatever happens, I promise I will never 'ditch' him. I still want to be there for him whether I'm here or there. I told Kai that as well."

Rei forced a smile.

That was all well and good...but if he was off living and working somewhere else, how could he help him?

"And anyway, whether I'm here or not, he has you, right?" he added with a small grin as he nudged him with his elbow.

Rei scoffed.

"Oh yeh, big whoop..."

Dan gave him a small smack round the head, letting his hand drape across his shoulders once he had.

"Oh, hush! You know what a difference you make to him..."

Rei sank. The guilty little pang of jealousy coming back when it really shouldn't.

"Not the same way you do..."

"I'm just a teacher." he waved off, "You're a friend. You have history together. You know him probably better than anyone. And besides, today just proved it. You got him out of that dining hall and got him calmed down like a pro. Did everything you should in that situation and then some. I know he's in excellent hands with you. Always have. You're great for him."

Rei blushed a little. As much as he didn't want to go around in circles about who was better, it did feel nice to get a little reassurance.

"Thanks..but still, will suck if you're not here...if he's without his hero." Rei blurted out before he could stop himself. Though this time, the nickname didn't hold any bitterness

It hit Dan in a way he didn't expect. Clubbed him right in the chest.

He blinked away the instant prickling in his eyes.

"I wouldn't go that far..." he laughed modestly.

Rei turned his kind, golden eyes meet his steel grey ones.

"I would..."

The reassurance had been nice for him. And judging by the huge, unexpected vent a moment ago, it seemed Dan needed it, too.

Jealous or not, there was no denying he deserved it.

Plus, it was truth.

Not all heroes wore capes. Some of them played piano, grinned and put up with a looottttt of shit from his brand new boyfriend.

"Thank you, Rei..."

A silence fell between them for a moment, the atmosphere feeling more calm.

"Mr. Harris?"

"Hn?"

"Why don't you tell Kai all this? He's...well, it's bothering him."

Dan let out a deep sigh.

"I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. I figured there's no point telling him anything until I knew for sure...I didn't mean to stress him out."

"I know that...but I think you should consider at least keeping him in the loop. He's convinced your leaving, or that was what he said."

"And what? I tell him I might not be? Make him think I'm staying and then it turn out I'm going?"

Rei nodded. He saw his point.

He just hated seeing Kai upset...

Dan cleared his throat.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't repeat any of this to him either. Or anyone in fact, Rei. It's dumb, but its just the rules. I can't tell students about it. Kai found out by accident."

Damnit...now he was bound to secrecy.

He hated secrets.

"I won't. My lips are sealed. But please...tell him as soon as you know, either way."

"I will, Rei..."

He took it as his cue to leave. He wanted to check on Kai, and Dan had to get off to choir practice.

He thought more as he hobbed back.

That encounter definitely had not gone as he had expected, which was for the best in a lot of ways.

Was no mauling, that was a plus.

But Dan blowing up like he had really threw him through a loop. Caught him completely off guard.

Because that was something you just never saw.

Sure, he'd seen him stern. With Kai or with those teachers. But nothing like that.

Taking in what Dan had said, it was clear it wasn't just a sudden burst of stress. Things had been building and building.

Taking care of Kai and growing attached being one thing, but more surprising was his rant about how no one else was helping _him_. Leaving everything to him while still expecting him to get everything else done.

He'd never really thought about it, because if there was anyone who fit the description of Mr. Brightside, carefree and relaxed, it was Dan. He never once seemed bogged down or overloaded.

And suddenly, a connection became apparent.

Where Kai bottled everything up, putting on a mask in form of a scowl and a glare, ignoring everyone and coming off that he was untouchable, it seemed Dan wasn't all that different.

Instead of the scowl mask, there was always a big grin.

Instead of ignoring everyone, there were dad jokes aplenty and an over-bubbly personality, making him come off as untouchable.

They were two very, _very_ different people. But he guessed they had their similarities.

He always knew there had to be something. He couldn't really explain how they worked before.

But that was one, at least.

Dan stayed where he was sat, giving himself a second to let the excess water in his eyes dry up.

Well...he hadn't meant for that explosion.

Looked like Kai wasn't the only one having an off day.

He adored Rei, but he had to admit him coming in guns blazing accusing him of not caring had really pushed the wrong button. And had been hurtful.

Ah, he was just a kid. And he was only doing to it stand up for Kai. It was sweet, really.

But still, it had caught him off guard. Being shit on for not caring, being made out to be a bad guy.

Especially when he and Charlotte had had one _hell_ of a fight about it not that long ago that, if he was honest, he still wasn't completely over.

She'd had a razor sharp tongue that night and cut in all the right places.

" _For fuck sake, Dan! He is_ _ **not**_ _your son and_ _ **not**_ _your problem! When are you going to drop the delusion!? When are you going to stop treating him like a substitute cause we never had 'em?! And where is this dedication and loyalty to me, huh?! I've waited around more than ten years for you, Harris! Instead of holding us back, why don't you just get a fucking dog or something like any other barren couple?!"_

She'd been angry. She apologised. She felt for Kai and did like him. They'd talked it out and come to the compromise they had.

But still...as hurtful as she had been, he also could see where that anger and resentment was coming from. It was years in the making.

And 95% his fault.

He ended it with her in after college when they went abroad. He had let her go.

He fought to get her back, got her and then had been making her wait every since.

What she wanted was stability. A home.

A spouse who was around.

But there was always something. Always something that he'd put before giving her what she needed.

On occasion it had been her, but mostly it was him putting it off.

Finally, years later and looking down the barrel of 40, he was asking her to postpone it once again.

Of course she had a right to be angry.

It wasn't even that he didn't want the same things. Of course he wanted to be with her, build a home and a life with her.

It was just that rather unexpectedly, over the last year, he found himself experiencing something he never thought he would.

He depended on him..in a way no one ever had.

In return, he felt like he needed to be depended on now.

And no, it wasn't something a _dog_ could substitute. It was _this_ one. He chose _this_ one! This scruffy haired, angsty little shit!

He didn't want to have to sacrifice either of them.

Was that wrong of him?

He always meant well, but currently was hurting both of the people he loved, and he had no idea what else to do to fix it.

His eyes went to his watch as he heard the bell.

Whoops, he'd missed home room. Again.

Better get a wriggle on if he was going to start choir practice on time.

He sniffed and pulled himself together. No point frickin' cryin' about it all. Must just be a full moon or something...

He ran back to the teachers room, rummaging round his paper filled desk looking for his music scores and grabbing his thermos.

The bell went again.

Shit, how was he late?!

A few minutes later, the music room doors opened and a blinding grin waltzed in.

"Afternoon, boys! Everyone present and correct? If you're not here, raise your hand..." he said before letting out a chuckle as the others groaned.

He did a head count.

"All right guys, let's get started..."

Rei slipped back in to Kai's room and hobbled in.

He was still sleeping.

Should he wake him? He didn't want him to be up all night again.

Luckily, his crutches tapping the floor did the work for him, violet eyes peeling open.

"Rei?" his croaky voice let out as he slowly rubbed his eyes, "How long was I out for?"

Rei made his way to the bed and set himself beside him.

"Only about an hour or so. Not too long. But you should probably wake up now."

"Mm. Yeh...Where'd you go? I swear I just heard you come in."

Rei kicked his legs up and lay himself next to him.

"Just had to go back to the teachers room quick, nothing important." he lied.

Kai nodded, letting a strange silence come over them before his big, violet eyes stared until they got Rei's full attention.

"I'm really sorry..."

"What for?" Rei asked.

"Everything...the panic, the rambling, the...the... _crying_..." he let out, the blush coming in quick.

Rei smiled, seeing the color in his face and wishing he could hug and kiss him.

Oh...wait! He _could_!

Still hadn't sunk in properly yet.

He brushed his bangs away with his fingers and settled down closer to him.

"What did I tell you about apologising for this? It's nothing you need to be sorry for. And it's all right to be upset about that."

Kai rolled his still slightly red eyes.

"No, it's fine. Really. Just caught me at a weak moment was all..."

Rei rolled his back.

Stubborn ass...

"Okay, well," he said as he put his arms round him and pulled him closer, "for the record, I don't think you can get rid of him that easily. Might not be the same, but he'll still be in your corner, and be there in any way he can..." he said firmly as he tilted his chin up to make sure he didn't avert his eyes, "and I'm right here...I'm not going anywhere."

He studied at the unique amethyst colors up close, noticing the welling up.

His pale face nodded and stayed quiet, shifting to get closer.

With the hand still on his chin, he leaned in, pressing their lips together softly but firmly.

* * *

The alarm went off at 7am as usual, rousing them in to Wednesday morning.

Masses of messed up black hair pulled itself up, while a mop of silver and blue followed shortly after.

There had been no nightmares, no freak outs.

A solid night's sleep.

And after a whole evening of just being, laying down and either enjoying comfortable silence or randomly blurting out thoughts while warmly wrapped up in each other, Kai felt considerably better. Comforted.

It was just a shame that content feeling only lasted until they bid each other farewell as they broke off from each other to go start their days.

Black butterflies of shame fluttered in his gut.

He had no idea exactly who had seen the spectacle in the dining hall yesterday.

But there were two that he knew for sure had seen every horrible and humiliating moment of it.

And he didn't want them to even look at him.

Keep their judgy eyes away from him...

With a steady but inwardly nervous hand, he slid the door of his home room open.

"Morning Kai!"

Oh, the horror...

He put his eyes on the ground and walked as fast as he could to his desk.

Scotty blinked, he'd been afraid of this. He and Reu had talked about it for a good while last night.

What was the best way to handle this so that he didn't feel weird about it?

"'Sup Kai..." he joined, trying to sound as natural as he could just as Kai walked by him.

He got an odd sounding "Hn!" in response.

Seemed like they were too late, he already felt weird about it.

He passed them quickly and sat himself in his seat, hunching over and averting his eyes like some kind of...troll getting exposed to sunlight and turning in to stone.

...A smokin' hot troll...

And look at that, his arms had already turned to _rock._

Abs too, probably...

He shook himself. Focus, Scotty. Friend in need to deal with.

Unfortunately, the bell went. There wasn't much he or Reuben could do during class.

The door slid open, a big, pearly white smile walking in.

"Mornin' boys!" the usual chirpy voice rang through the room melodically, taking in his class.

Kai really did turn to stone when he met his eyes.

He felt guilt.

Dan had sworn him to secrecy and he'd blubbed to Rei about it.

Dan tensed as well when he caught eyes with Kai.

He'd had that conversation with Rei and now he felt guilty...

"Let's see what thrilling announcements we have today, huh?" he shot out quickly, looking over the paper.

Kai smirked.

Forgot attendance again...

"Oh! I almost forgot to do attendance!"

Mmhmm...

His eyes drifted, catching a head turning.

Worried hazel eyes glanced back, giving him a small smile.

Oh... _ **get lost**_ _**Reuben**_!

He jolted in his seat and threw his eyes out the window.

The bell went, and so began another day at St. Tristans.

The moment the clock struck twelve, the bell chimed and the blue-jacketed sea of Cinderellas throughout the campus had to dash to make it to the dining hall in time to get seats.

Kai felt the two of them look his way, and it was painfully loud eye contact.

But he wasn't about to return it.

He twirled as he got out his seat, turning his back to them and grabbing his bag before hot-footing it out the classroom.

Reuben and Scotty glanced at each other, silently wondering the best course of action.

"C'mon Reu, let's go get some lunch."

Reuben followed sadly.

He wanted to go after him, but maybe Scotty was right...

But there had to be a way to show him it was okay. That they were on his side, and that _damnit!_ They were his friends!

 _ **Newfound best friends!**_

Luckily, unknown to him, Scotty was having similar thoughts.

Kai skulked silently in to the beautiful school library that housed his peace and quiet.

Considering this school was supposedly the best education money could by, priding itself on producing societies elite, no fucker was ever here reading a book...

Unless it was the last days counting down to exams. Panic study to try and cram a semester or more worth of material in to their brains in the space of 48 hours.

Nope. Money didn't prevent morons. Just gave them means.

But, Kai was at least grateful he had somewhere to escape to.

He slumped down in to his seat at the empty wooden table and dropped his bag on the floor, sending a small yet noticeable echo through the towering shelves.

One hour. He could get his English essay rolling in that time. Would mean an hour less tonight, and therefore one more hour for Rei.

Maybe?

He sighed. Better get started...

He reached in to his back and pulled out his notebook and now mangled copy of _The Great Gatsby_ , marked with a million tabs and color coded to all hell because the teacher kept insisting everything was of the utmost importance and could potentially appear in the exam.

He made a face at the book.

They finished reading it a few weeks ago, and then, as English classes tended to do, they went over every single detail and picked it apart word by word analysing every little thing and sucking all the enjoyment out of the book.

He'd liked the book enough when he was reading it. Wasn't terrible.

But now he loathed it. Not able to give a single shit about the style, tone, symbolism or motifs that they had tediously gone over in ridiculous detail.

Yes. They all knew the "old money", the ones born in to wealth, were shallow. (Also, weird choice for _this_ school in particular. But point taken.) But that didn't need hours and hours of lecture and in depth study.

He rummaged in his bag for the file that had that paper with the essay topics, sliding it out and scanning it.

What were his options again?

He made another face.

Urgh. Nothing overly interesting.

Which one did he know more shit about?

He read over the three options, but the first one got his attention.

 _Consider the way that Fitzgerald develops a message throughout the novel on the American dream._

Ah yes, the American Dream. Learned all about it in their...Japanese school.

The idea that anybody, no matter who they were, where they were from or what class they were born in to, could achieve their vision of success in a society where climbing up the ladder was possible. If you worked hard enough, you could make it.

Of course, a wonderful dream.

And, of course, like the book expressed, the aristocracy was hardly on board with that. The good people, ones worth a damn were born in to rich families. Had their high-up place in life by birthright.

Hn. Now why did that sound familiar?

" _Can you believe what they dragged in to teach the Chinese class? This used to be a high-class school...it used to have some pride...the highest quality teachers to teach the elite...but it seems they're starting to let any old riff-raff here nowadays..."_

" _Oh yeh? What are you gonna do if I don't,_ _ **mongrel**_ _?"_

He gripped his pen harder. He hadn't thought about his first 'scuffle' with Giles in a long while. Back when Rei first came to the school.

How dare he talk about Rei like that...like he was worth less. He was worth ten times what Giles was! More than!

He hadn't enjoyed being called a mongrel either. Such a filthy word.

Again, an outdated idea that somehow he wasn't pure blooded.

A mudblood.

Urgh, he was the Draco Malfoy of St. Tristens!

A dumb lightbulb went off as he went further down the rabbit hole in to his own world.

Oh! In that case, Rei was like the Ron Weasley!

He was kind of clumsy...

But Rei was hotter, not a red head.

No weird family. Unless you counted the White Tigers?

Was waaaaaaay braver and brighter than Ron.

Okay no, Rei wasn't exactly Ron, just the fact that Malfoy was a dick to him and looked down at him for not being rich.

 _Ooooo_ , did that make him like Harry!? He was kind of the Half-Blood Prince...in that he was half-blooded!

He was a beyblade champ, Harry was a Quidditch champ.

So was Ron.

Ron was a _Keeper_...

Well what a coincidence...so was Rei...

He grinned moronically to himself as he stared in to space before his mind rolled on.

Would that mean Dan was Dumbledore?

Pfff, _Danbledore._ Heh heh heh...

He snorted at the image of him in a wizard hat and a long-ass beard.

If he lent him Dranzer...he'd have Fawkes...

Tsch. No. What was he saying? Dan was Professor Trelawny at best.

Oooooooo! He even had a Voldemort-esque character in his life! Maybe he was the St. Tristans Harry! Had to take the positives there where he could get them.

...Oh no, this was getting waaaaay too nerdy. Enough of that.

He reminded himself of what the hell he doing before...that.

Oh yeh! The point was, Rei could be anything! It didn't matter that he wasn't rich! Fuck Giles! _**Fuck the system!**_

Riled up, he grabbed his pen. That which was mightier than the _sword_.

He went at his notebook, scribbling down any and every thought he could get down about the topic that he could make sense of later and shape in to an A+ essay.

His eyes burned in to the white, lined paper that was quickly filling with his messy words when his ears suddenly heard a scrape of chairs.

His head snapped up.

His pen stopped.

He blinked.

The hell was this?!

Hazel eyes gleamed as a hand waved manically to his left.

A cocky smirk and a nod greeted him to his right as they both sat themselves down.

" _Hiii!_ " Reuben mouthed as he waved again, getting an even more perplexed look back.

" _Hi?"_ Kai mouthed back.

Reuben grinned.

" _What are you doing?"_ he mouthed as he pointed dramatically at the notebook.

" _...My essay?"_

Scotty rolled his eyes.

"Why are you mouthing? We're allowed to talk in this area as long as it's quiet."

Reuben blinked.

"We are?!"

Kai ignored them, there were more important things to be addressed.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked flatly.

He didn't need this...this blatant sympathy act.

Scotty shrugged.

"What? Can't two guys come hang out in the library?"

Kai gave him the death eyes.

Scotty leaned in a little and took them in in all their glory.

"...How do you do that? Such power..."

The deathly stare intensified, and Scotty took the hint.

"All right fine. You wouldn't come to us, so we wanted to come to you."

The glare stopped and Kai's brow shot up.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh please, Reu has asked you to come hang out with us, I asked you, you never do. Maybe you don't like going to people's places or something. That's cool." he said casually, carefully omitting the mention of the dining hall, "So...we'll go along with what you like to do..." he rambled as he glanced around the stone walls and wooden shelves.

"I uh...I can safely say our place is a lot more fun, but this is good too!" he lied.

Kai rolled his eyes.

This was...awkward.

"Well...if you guys don't mind, I'm trying to work here..." he replied dismissively as he tried to go back to his notebook.

Now, where was he?

"What you working on?"

 _Sigggh..._

"English."

"Urgh. Great Gatsby..." Scotty groaned.

"My mom and dad dressed up as F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald for a party once!" Reuben interjected.

Kai gave him a look and opened his mouth to ask why the hell he should care.

"For Halloween?" Scotty cut off.

"No! They had a 'roaring 20's' party last year. Was really fun! Everyone was all dressed up and there they hired a Jazz band!"

"Oooooohhhh, one of their themed parties." Scotty added in a tone that Kai took to mean they did this sort of weird thing often.

Reuben nodded.

"So anyway, which essay did you pick? I think I'm going to do the one about Nick's character."

Kai held in the growl.

He wasn't going to get anything done at this rate.

"American Dream." he spat out curtly.

"Ooooh. That one looked kind of hard."

Kai's judgemental brow came back as he lifted his head again.

"How so? It's a huge point of the book."

"Well...I mean sure, Gatsby went from rags to riches, didn't really end well for him, did it?"

Kai's eye twitched.

"That...that's literally the _point_! He's not waving a star spangled flag for the dream, he's criticising it!"

He was only met with blinks.

He smacked his hand to his face and ran it down his already annoyed face.

As well as his show-off senses tingling like crazy at the sensed opportunity.

"Look, it's very simple. Like you said, Gatsby himself went rags to riches. He thought if he could get himself all rich and wealthy, he would be equal with the upper-class and therefore win the heart his upper-class girl. He got the money, didn't get the girl, and so the point is..."

The two listened to him go off on an impressive ramble. Was he ever going to stop for a breath?

They both beamed.

Reuben because he'd never heard his newfound best friend's voice so much before.

Scotty because he was basically writing his essay for him, if he could remember it all.

After what felt like his millionth point, Kai caught himself.

He'd gotten carried away.

"A-anyway, if you don't mind!" he snapped as he snatched up his pen again, "Gotta write this all down..."

Scotty rest his cheek lazily against his hand.

"Huh...never thought about the green light like that before..."

Kai almost snapped his pen as he got interrupted yet again.

 _LIST!_

"We went over it in class." he hissed.

"Ah, I probably wasn't listening. I suck at English. At least the literature part. I'm no good with delving deep and finding meaning and crap like that. If I read a book, I just want to enjoy the ride, ya know? And plus, do the authors really think that much about it when they write? Like, 'why did they choose this word?', uhhh, cause it sounded good? End of story! Sometimes things just are what they are. Black and white. And that's how I like it. Just say what it is!"

Kai looked up and blinked before the tiniest smirk cracked.

Yes! Exactly! That's what he'd just been saying! ...To himself.

"Hn, yeh, tell me about it..."

Scotty smirked back.

"That's kind of what I like about you, ya know. Don't talk much, but when you do you tell it how it is."

Kai's smirk vanished.

He hadn't been expecting a...compliment?

He didn't like it. He felt funny.

What was the protocol here?

Scotty let out a slight chuckle at the look on his face.

"I tell you about this Reu? Yesterday after choir, I was like 'Hey Kai, wanna come hang out?' and he went..." he paused as he put on a deadpan face, _"No, I'm good."_ he mimicked in Kai's dry, deep tone before belting out a laugh.

Kai tensed, uncomfortable alarm bells going nuts.

"Why is that _funny_?"

Good. This was all he needed. To be made fun of.

Scotty let out a sigh as his laugh calmed.

"Because most people would be like 'Oooooh, I'd love to, but I'm bussssy!', but you were just balls out like, 'Nah'." he laughed again, "Man didn't wanna hang out, he said it. I like that. It's refreshing."

Kai blinked and tilted his head.

What was happening here? Why were they talking?

He _just_ wanted to write his essay in peace!

Scotty sensed the discomfort, and quickly had the good sense to move along.

"So...this where you come every day instead of the dining hall?"

He kicked himself.

Ooooh, bad move! He mentioned the D.H. word...moron!

Oh nooo, he felt him tense.

"Yes! Now will you let me get to work!?"

Scotty turned around in his seat, taking in his surroundings, bottom lip sticking out as he surveyed it and gave a small nod.

"I mean...I guess I can see the appeal. The peace and quiet."

Kai slammed his pen down and gave him one more deathly warning glare.

Scotty shook his head in awe.

"Seriously, how do you do that!? Can you teach me?"

Kai let out an exhausted sigh.

Would they ever fuck off?!

Reuben glanced between them and kicked his friend under the table.

He saw him startle and make a face at the sudden pain in his leg.

"I think he wants to do his essay. You know _maaaaaybbbbbbe_ it wouldn't be a bad idea to start ours?" he said pointedly, followed by a less than subtle wink.

Kai heard it, and couldn't give a shit. As long as they zipped it and stopped talking complete nonsense!

He put up with a few more moments of noise as they rustled through their bags for their things.

And...there was quiet...

The presence was annoying, but they were quiet. He could ignore.

Now...finally. Where was he?

Oh, right. Symbolism of the green light...

"Can I borrow your book a second?"

 _Oh for the-_

 _LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIST!_

His angered face fell to one of disbelief as the ten minute warning bell went.

Lunch was over?!

But...but he hadn't gotten as far as he'd planned!

Scotty stretched.

"What you got next, Kai?"

He got a genuinely pissed off look.

" _Ancient History!_ " he hissed.

Scotty nodded, sinking in that his mission hadn't really gone to plan.

"Cool...you uh...coming to choir practice today?"

" _Yes._ "

"Cool..." he repeated again.

"Well look uh...sorry about all the distraction. We'll be more prepared tomorrow and keep quiet! Promise!"

Kai's brow twitched manically.

Tomorrow?!

Nooooooooooooo! They were invading his safe space!

His beautiful sanctuary!

He should have just bitten the bullet and gone to one of their rooms to 'hang out'. Or showed Reuben how to to a push up again.

Scotty got out of his seat and threw his bag over his shoulder, throwing a hand down to clap him on the back.

His very...very well sculpted back...

"Welp, see ya at practise mon ami!" he let out casually as he turned to walk off.

Reuben put his straps over his shoulders properly, ready to go off to art class with him.

"Thanks for the hang out! Was real fun!" he beamed, "Can suffer through assignment season together and then have more time in the evening! Great idea!" he praised before starting off away from the table.

"See you in home room! Have a good afternoon!"

Kai was left stood alone feeling like he'd just been slapped.

Wh-...? What the _hell just happened?_!

Meanwhile, Reuben ran out the large, heavy doors of the library entrance after Scotty, a spring in his step.

"That was a great idea!" he praised his taller friend as he caught up with him.

Scotty smiled as he glanced over.

"Think we pissed him off mostly, but it's all right, we'll work out the bugs and try again tomorrow!"

Reuben frowned.

"We?! Don't you mean _you_ pissed him off?!"

"Reu, buddy, minor details!" he brushed off, "The important thing is we've found a place we know he feels comfortable in, it's quiet and isn't overwhelming. All the perfect conditions to make him warm to us. Just have to be patient."

Reuben's eyes lit up. He liked the sound of that.

They'd all be BFF's in no time! The four of them!

The Nerds of a Feather, _flocking together_!

* * *

End of Chapter!

I really hope you liked it!

And I'm very sorry to those of you who maybe aren't familiar with Harry Potter XD.

The Great Gatsby too. I heard that in the States a lot of schools read it. I personally only read it for leisure for the first time a few years ago and had to google the crap they were talking about before. If it's incorrect, please blame the internet. Remembered mentioning they were reading it ages ago at the beginning of the story somewhere so just went with it!

Seriously, I like reading as much as the next person, but those literature classes were awful, weren't they!? The bitterness from Scotty and Kai is very real.

Aaaaaaaaaaaannnyway, I hope you liked it! Would love to know what you thought of it!

Hopefully see you all soon!

Thanks and bye! :)


	26. Better Late Than Never (Xmas Special)

Hello, dear readers!

Merry Christmas!

Here with something that isn't the next chapter...Sorry.

Along with another story of mine, I had ideas for a Christmassy chapter since last year. Only last year it was waaaaaaaaaay too soon and so couldn't be done.

This year...it's technically still a little bit soon, but close enough!

So what we have here, essentially, is actually kind of a teaser chapter in to the sequel. It all takes place about a month after the current story ends!

I tried to do it in a way that doesn't give too much away, and still leaves certain things to be answered when we come back to the actual story. But this is an actual chapter for the next part. Y'all just get it early. :)

I will admit, I probably let myself get carried away. I spent Christmas Eve and a lot of today (Christmas Day. On my own due to family being the other side of the world and my loved ones here working) writing this, so I think my Christmas starved heart put everything it had in this XD.

I won't ramble more. Of course, as always thank you to all of you lovely readers who are still with me. My gorgeous reviewers who keep me wanting to work on this.

And to all of you, Merry Christmas!

Lots of love, Roy.

* * *

Better Late Than Never.

" _O Holy night! The stars are brightly shining_ _  
_ _It is the night of our dear Savior's birth_ _  
_ _Long lay the world in sin and error pining_ _  
_ _'Til He appears and the soul felt its worth"_

Despite the warmth of his thick coat, a shiver went down Rei's spine as his head stayed tilted up slightly and focused on the small stage in the middle of the square.

With the Christmas Eve market going on around the edges, a crowd had gathered to watch the festive performances lined up to give the already ripe Christmas atmosphere that extra little pinch of something special.

Currently, he was proudly watching the St. Tristan's Boy's School Choir.

And as usual, focus on one member in particular.

Until a nudge came in Rei's side.

"Pffff! Sourpuss! In a _choir_!" the mocking and quiet laughter came from beside him.

Rei frowned and shot an unhappy look at his childish friend.

"Yes, Tyson!" he hissed back, "A choir! Now shut up and listen, will you? They worked really hard!"

Not to mention he wanted to ogle his boyfriend. Stood up there looking gorgeous in a winter coat singing beautifully like the buff, sulky looking angel he was.

" _A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices_ _  
_ _For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn"_

Tyson pouted at the scolding. Turning to Max for backup, but who sadly wasn't joining in his mocking.

They were no fun...

Fine, he'd watch...

At that precise moment, the choir was ready to smash him in the face with the chorus.

With varying ranges of haunting male voices swirling together, the intensity soared.

" _Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices!  
O night divine, O night when Christ was born..."_

Almost every hair of Rei's body stood on end.

 _Damn_ , they were good...

Meanwhile, Dan broke out in a smug smile as his hands swished to conduct his wonderful and _divine_ sounding singing minions.

He knew he'd made the right hymn choice with this one...he was a genius.

He smirked hard as he glanced at his Fireball.

He was pissssssed that Tyson and Max had come to watch.

And Grandpa Granger...

And some other people he wasn't familiar with.

The whole gang!

Had to give it to him, he was very professional. While his face might have given away his disdain, it was clear he was trying to hold it in. And his voice was on point.

Even he had to admit, after only having a few weeks after the contest to put this together, they were all pulling it out the bag.

He had chills!

...Or maybe it was the sub-par heater the council had so graciously provided them on the stage.

Anyway...it was time to party!

His with a huge lift of his hands, his squad of choir boys dug deep.

" _Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,_ _  
_ _His power and glory evermore proclaim._ _  
_ _His power and glory evermore proclaim._ _"_

He held his breath and raised his hands again getting ready to signal them to sing that one more time but with some _ **OOMPH!**_

His boys didn't disappoint, sending an epic case of shivers down his spine.

As he closed his fist, the crowd behind them broke out in applause.

Beside a sniffing Rei, gloved hands clapped frantically and manically.

Rei turned his watery eyes and lifted a brow.

Taking a break from his speed clapping, the back of the brown glove came to wipe his face of the streaming tears.

"Are you crying?!" Rei asked.

Tyson sniffled and snapped his wet face to him with a glare.

"I'm not crying, _**you're**_ crying!"

"I am! I admit it!" Rei laughed as he dried the corner of his eyes.

Tyson's lip wobbled again.

"That was _wonderful_!" his voice strained.

Max grinned and shook his head, dry eyed.

He agreed.

Goosebumps. Goosebumps everywhere.

But he was proud he had been the one not to cry.

Or...at least not have any of them actually fall.

The group of boys in matching coats took their bow, turning in almost military precision and walking off the stage single file.

"That was some groovy tune! K-Dog and his crew sure got some pipes!"

The others turned to find an equally damp faced Grandpa, followed by Kenny and Hilary behind them.

"Hey! Where were you guys?" Max asked, "Did you miss it?"

Hilary looked annoyed.

"Oh! _Now_ you guys care! Didn't seem too bothered when you ran off and left us in line for hot chocolate!"

Tyson growled.

"Don't look at me! It was Rei's fault! He was the one that insisted on front row seats! And where is it anyway?!"

Hilary was still steaming from the ears as she and Kenny lifted up brown paper bags filled with to-go cups of equally steaming hot goodness.

"Thank god! I'm freezing! Gimme gimme!" Tyson demanded as he charged at the bag.

"So, did you guys catch it?!" Rei pried.

They better not have missed him singing like that for some stupid cocoa...

"Of course we did! We stood at the back with Grandpa. Helped him figure out how to record on his phone!" Hilary snapped as she shoved the cheap cup in Tyson's hand.

Rei lit up.

"You recorded it?! Really!? Send it to me!"

They all turned to him, brows lifting in unison.

"...Little bit eager there, aren't ya Rei?" Tyson said in a perplexed tone.

Rei's face heat up as he chuckled awkwardly.

"What? Can't a guy be proud of his _friend_?"

God, this not telling them thing was killing him...

Only a select few people knew. A very select few. And that was by accident.

Unfortunately, none of them included their teammates.

Tyson shrugged. He guessed there was nothing wrong with that.

They handed out the cups, blowing on it and all melting in to the warmth with the bitter chill that otherwise surrounded them.

Rei looked around every few seconds, waiting.

He bet Kai could use a hot drink after that. If not just for his throat.

A few minutes went by before he straightened up, waving as he caught a familiar mop of wild hair.

"Over here!"

Kai sauntered over, hands in his pocket and deadpan faced.

Why had they all come?

Rei was fine...but he wasn't thrilled about the others witnessing that.

The gang was on him in seconds.

"Dude! That was wicked! Who knew a grouch like you could sing that good!"

"Amazing! You all sounded fantastic!"

"Tyson cried!"

"I DID NOT!"

"Did too!"

Kai both reeled and smirked at the same time.

"Uh, thanks..."

Rei grabbed the bag off Grandpa.

"Here! There's one for you!" he beamed as he offered him a cup.

Kai's face grew a lot softer.

"Thank you..."

"...Was so good..." Rei praised yet again as a wobbly smile stretched across his almost doe-eyed face.

Kai huffed out a bashful laugh and hunched his shoulders as he brought the cup up, eyes on him as well.

"Stop. You'll make me blush." he replied dryly yet playfully.

Tyson and Max frowned while Kenny strained to keep his own smirk away, blowing on his cup again.

"Guys...is this what being in an all boys school has done to you?" Tyson joked bluntly with the same perplexed look.

He quickly got an elbow in the ribs from Max while Kenny choked on his drink.

" _Tyson!_ " the blonde hissed.

Kai was in a good mood. Why the hell would he ruin that for them?!

The two of them tensed, the doey looks fallen turning too deers in the headlights.

They eyed each other, looking to each other for the right response.

Rei looked hopeful. He was desperate to just have it out in the open. But wanted to keep his promise to Kai to wait until he was ready.

Kai read it. An almost silent noise of uncertainty seeping out his throat as he tried to make up his mind.

Things were going good. Really well, in fact.

He knew they'd have to spill the beans eventually...just..argghhh...

Rei gave him a nod. It was okay. They didn't have to...

In return, Kai's brow furrowed.

He could tell how much Rei wanted to tell them.

Just...DO IT!

"Well, actually..." his timid voice let out, making Rei light up.

"I mean...not the all boys school part...but...uhhh..." Kai scrambled, looking to Rei for help.

Rei jumped in. He'd tried and that was enough.

"We're sort of...together now." Rei blurted out.

Wasn't the perfect choice of words for the grand reveal, but at this point he didn't really care.

The others stood and stared blankly for a moment. Needing a moment to process that.

Tyson's face just got more confused.

"Huh!?"

Hilary on the other hand, squealed.

"Oh my goooodddd, really?!" she jumped.

Grandpa belted a laugh.

"I knew my tingling senses were right! Good for you, dogs!"

"Waaaaitwaitwaitwait!" Tyson burst out holding up his hands.

"You. And Kai. As in like...dating?"

Kai tensed, feeling his stomach drop.

Shit...this was exactly what he was afraid of.

"Yes, Tyson." Rei nodded simply. Boy was slow...wasn't his fault.

Tyson's head snapped from Kai to Rei. Rei to Kai and back again, eyes narrowed at them before they grew the size of plates and shined.

"AWESOME! I mean, I always had a feeling Kai was...you know."

Kai choked.

"Huh?!"

"What? You have that vibe."

"I do not! ...Do I?!" he squawked as he looked to the others, who all shrugged diplomatically.

The love of tight shirts and face paint was a little bit of a give away...as was the flare for dramatics.

"Does it matter? You are?" Rei asked him.

"No, it doesn't matter...just..." he mumbled, trailing off in to inaudible mumbling.

"Well, I'm happy for you both!" Max beamed, "I think you're good for each other."

Kai seemed to warm to that. As did Rei.

They warmed more when the others nodded in agreement.

Hilary wanted to flap, gush and get all the details, but was sadly cut off.

"Kai!"

They turned, Scotty strolling over with Reuben beside him, skip in his step.

The two of them smiled shyly as they approached the group of celebrities.

"H-hi!" Scotty waved, "I don't suppose you guys remember us..."

Tyson eyed them. Face blank as he shook his head apologetically.

Kai rolled his eyes at him.

"Yeh, you do. These are my friends from school. Came to the tournament...Threw me up in the air..." he added with a hint of disdain at the memory of being tossed up and down like a sack.

Tyson clicked.

"OOOOH! You guys! Yeh, I remember! How's it going? You're in the choir too, right? Saw you up there! Amazing job!"

Scotty was too distracted for the moment looking at Reuben, who seemed to have malfunctioned and frozen with his mouth dropped open in happy stunned awe and slightly damper eyes.

He subtly pat his back, knowing him well enough to know.

Yeh...Christmas had come early for Reu. He called them his friends.

"Uh...yeh! Thanks!" he finally caught up, "And thanks for coming to watch!"

They stood around making small talk until Scotty tapped Kai's arm.

"Sorry to drag you away, but I think Mr. Harris needs to round us up a minute."

"M'kay. See you in a sec." he directed at Rei before the two of them walked off, leaving the Bladebreakers with a still not quite over it Reuben.

"...You all right there, Reu?" Rei asked.

He gave a radiating grin back.

"Yeh! This is fun! Mind if I hang with you guys til our _friends_ come back?" he tested out.

Oooooooh that felt good!

"Sure you can..." Rei chuckled.

He knew Reu well enough to know Kai just made him a happy little bunny as well.

Tyson eyed him.

"Did you know about...you know?"

The joy on Reuben's face dropped.

"Beg your pardon?"

Rei sighed.

"Yes, he knows about me and Kai..."

Tyson puffed his cheeks.

"The hell! How come you told them before us!?"

Reuben belted out a laugh.

"Oh, they didn't tell us...Scotty just caught them at the wrong time!"

Tyson's face turned to almost an evil smile as he stepped up to the kid he barely knew and put an arm round him.

"Is that right? Step this way, tell us everything..."

Meanwhile, Kai, Scotty and the other choir boys were rounded up.

Dan had just wanted to pat them on the back for a job well done before they all went off to enjoy the market was all.

It was over almost as soon as they had all come together.

He kept Kai back a minute, waving Charlotte over, who had been waiting just to the side for them to finish.

"You gonna go walk around with the guys?" he asked.

Kai shrugged.

"Yeh, I guess so. Why, did you want to leave soon?"

"No! We were going to have a look around too. But we were thinking we should probably head off by 7:30ish before everyone and their mother tries to leave at once. Good with you and Rei?"

Kai nodded.

Was fine. And not like they would have a choice either way if it wasn't. They were their ride.

He and Rei were spending Christmas break with them at their new home.

Something which probably made a lot more sense to Tyson and the others now.

He wouldn't admit it, or show it, but for the first time in his life, he was really excited for Christmas.

What he wasn't excited for, was them opening the terrible gifts he'd brought them.

He'd also never really had to give gifts before...

What was the etiquette?

What was a good gift or your music/home room teacher that had turned in to someone of paramount importance?

What was a good gift for that teacher's girlfriend?

And oh god, what was a good gift for the guy he'd been pining after this whole time, tried to ignore it, but then couldn't and they were finally together now and he wanted to stay that way forever and ever until he was dead?!

It was all too late now. They were all carefully wrapped under the tree now.

Right now, it all looked beautiful.

If they didn't like them, maybe it would make them like him less?

If he had access to all his cash, he'd just throw diamonds and Rolex's galore at them.

But sadly, he had an allowance and that was it.

Was a lot more than your average person's allowance, granted. But not enough for such luxuries in bulk.

He guessed he'd find out tomorrow...

Which came a lot quicker than he'd anticipated.

The few hours with the other Bladebreakers, Scotty and Reu flew by. Maybe due to it being enjoyable.

The rest of the evening too, spent eating the 'small spread' Charlotte had put together for Christmas Eve knocking them all out early and sleeping their way in to Christmas morning.

As Kai and Rei emerged from their room, washed and dressed, they came down the stairs to meet an already festive Dan, Santa hat and...hideous green and red sweater ready.

He threw out his arms and belted out a jolly laugh as he greeted them at the doorway to the living room.

"Ho ho ho ho! Come in, and know me better man!"

He was met with blank stares.

His arms dropped down to his sides.

"Muppets? No?"

Still blank.

He looked to Kai.

"Charles Dickens? Christmas Carol."

That clicked.

"Oooohhhh...right."

Dan rolled his eyes.

Nerd.

"Ah, fine...come on in! Merry Christmas, boys!"

As they walked in to the decked out living room, Charlotte came in looking more like a mature adult.

Nice sweater, jeans and a big smile as she ferried out some cinnamon rolls.

"Morning boys! Merry Christmas! Sit yourselves down! We don't usually eat that much Christmas morning, don't want to spoil any appetites for lunch! But if you do want more, we have plenty!" her musical voice told them as she ushered them to the couch and coffee table.

"I'll bring out some coffee and tea in a minuttttteee!"

True to her word, she came back with piping hot cups of morning goodness to start the day right.

The two boys were almost glad for Dan and Charlotte's chirpiness. Neither of them really knew what the protocol was here.

Rei was only familiar with a Granger house Christmas. Which just consisted of Tyson and Max going nuts with the snacks and food and madness ensuing.

This felt a little different...

More grown up and sophisticated. Sort of. Minus Dan.

Kai on the other hand hadn't even partaken in the Granger gathering. Too much of an antisocial asshole.

With breakfast eaten and cleared away, Charlotte pottered in the kitchen, Rei assisting to get the turkey and trimmings going before they came to join the other two.

"We ready for gifts?!" Charlotte asked as she clapped a little.

Kai froze.

Oh god...

"Yeeehhh!" Dan answered for them, taking his place by the tree to dish out.

"What we got here? Rei! One for you. Charlotte, love, one for you! Kai, here you are! And oooooooh one for me!" he said as he took the little one.

"Everyone ready? Go!"

With the tearing of paper, a stream of happy sounds came out.

"Thanks, honey!" Charlotte thanked as she lifted out a new bottle of perfume from Dan. The good stuff!

"Welcome! And what's this...? Haaaa! Rei! Thank you!" he grinned as he held up a dark blue tie with some faint music notes printed on it.

"Sorry it's kind of a boring gift..." Rei apologised.

"Don't be stupid! Love it!"

Rei looked down and brightened in a split second, forgetting about the tie.

"THOR!"

Kai froze.

Uh oh...

He'd bought similar..

Rei lifted out a box set of movies.

"Thanks guys!"

Kai died a little inside, until he looked down and gasped.

"OOOOOHHHH!"

They all looked up to see what would evoke such a reaction from the Dark Lord.

"What you got there?"

Kai grinned and lifted it out.

 _'The Library of Violin Classics'_

"It's full of the sheet music! Solos! Got all the masterpieces in it! Thank you, Charlotte! Oooooh! Paganini! Next year's challenge! Have not even bothered trying to touch his stuff yet..."

Charlotte glowed and held a laugh as she watched him shove his nose in it.

That thing was only twenty bucks. Just didn't know what else to get him.

Didn't expect him to be that happy, but she was glad the inexpensive gift made the rich kid happy.

"You're so welcome, sweety!"

Rei shifted happily.

If he was blowing his load over that, he would probably like what he got him...

Dan chewed his cheek too.

If he was that stoked over that, he would really like what he got him...

More gifts got dished out.

Charlotte squealed over a big set of Clinique the boys had gotten her.

She never splurged on herself that much to buy it herself...

They both mentally thanked Hilary for helping them find something for her.

Rei laughed as he opened yet another Marvel gift.

 _'The Marvel Encyclopedia'_

"Thanks Kai! This is cool! Funny how there's a pattern!" he said happily as he flipped through it.

He would have to make Kai read this as well. Get a clue...

Kai breathed a little easier. He looked pleased...

He went back to the gift in his lap, unwrapping the long box and opening it.

"Oooooooooooooooooh!"

Rei frowned at the weird shaped...wood with some hooks on it.

The hell was that?

The wood was pretty though...almost had a similar sheen to the tiger eye on his bracelet.

Dan watched nervously.

"You like it? Looked like you might need a new one...from Charlotte and I."

"It's perfect!" he beamed, "Thank you!"

"What is it...?" Rei asked.

Kai's excited eyes turned to him as he held it up.

"Its a new shoulder rest for my violin!"

Rei laughed.

Was a pattern forming for him, too.

But now he was certain he'd like what he got him.

Oooo, one more from Kai.

His eyes lit up as he tore the paper to show a shiny new Blu-ray.

"ENDGAME!" he bounced, "Yeeeehhh! I didn't get to see it in the theatres!"

Charlotte lifted her head.

Ooooooh, neither had she! They'd have to watch it while they were here.

"Thank you!" Rei bounced as he leaned over and pecked his cheek, bringing back the familiar flush as Dan and Charlotte aww'd.

With a few more bits and pieces for Rei from them, Dan picked up the thin, square shaped ones for him and read the tag.

From Kai.

He ripped a corner and opened it up. Stopping as he peeled it off.

"What's that honey?" Charlotte asked.

"Aw, buddy!" he gushed.

A vinyl record.

Queen, Under Pressure.

Kai tapped the pads of his thumbs together.

"That okay?"

Dan bit his cheek again.

"Yes! I love it! Will have to get a record player!"

Kai pointed at the tree.

"I uh...didn't think you had one...so..."

Dan's face fell.

He didn't...

He looked over his shoulder. Lo and behold, was another big box wrapped up. On closer look, had his name on it.

He pulled it out and opened it up.

"Kaaaaaaai, you really shouldn't have done this!"

Kai shrugged. Wasn't hugely expensive. He didn't get him a top of the line one in case he didn't like it. But he wanted to get him something half decent.

"T-there's one more there, too!"

Dan looked back.

The hell?!

Opening up another thin square, he let out a happy 'haaaa!' as he felt the hot prickling in his eyes come no matter how hard he tried.

 _'Chopin: Nocturnes'_

"Bu-dddddddy!" he exclaimed, "This is awesome! Thank you! But you shouldn't have got all this!"

"It's the least I could do..." he shrugged again, flushing a little more and averting his eyes.

Dan grinned, blinking away prickles to stop himself making a scene he was sure neither he or Kai would enjoy and hunted for something under the tree.

"Heh, here...great minds."

He passed Kai another small present, which he took and peeled open.

A book. He liked those.

He turned it over and his own grin cracked.

 _'Frederic Chopin: A Life and Times'_

"Great minds...thank you."

Rei shifted.

"You still have one left from me!" he said almost impatiently, hinting for Dan to pass it.

He took the hint, passing him kind of a heavy one.

Kai unwrapped it, Rei's eyes waiting on him as he did.

He tensed as Kai's eyes seemed to bug out his head.

"Reeeeeeeeeei!" he gushed, picking out a wooden, almost pyramid shaped thing that Dan and Charlotte recognised immediately, letting out their own approving ooooh's.

Wonderful choice!

"Is it...is it okay?" Rei asked, "The man in the store said most people had digital ones now, but this seemed like something you might like more."

It was called a metronome, apparently. Had a pendulum that swung and clicked to keep musicians in time.

He was answered with a strong impact as Kai launched at him.

"It's so perfect! You're amazing at gifts, mine suck! It isn't enough!" he apologised as he smooshed him.

Rei laughed as he hugged him back.

"They don't. I'm stoked. I thought mine was boring. Glad you like it."

The older couple gushed a little more before Dan picked himself off the floor and ran out, coming in with three more chunky wrapped gifts.

"Last ones! Here you are!" he said gleefully as he passed them out.

"Ready? 3...2...1...Go!"

On Dan's command, Kai and Rei began to open their gifts, Charlotte too.

Rei quickly lifted out a bundle of woolly...something. Holding it up to get a good look.

"Oh...its a..."

"Its an ugly Christmas sweater!" Dan beamed.

Rei looked it over.

Blinding red with some of the funkiest snowmen he'd ever seen.

His lips curled in to a smile. He liked it...

"Almost as bad as yours..."

Dan tugged at the bottom of his green and red monstrosity.

"This is art, I'll have you know..."

Another snort came from beside him.

"Oh...Dan!" she scolded with her own smirk.

He wiggled his eyebrows.

"A Christmas fox for my vixen..."

Charlotte turned it for them to see. A weirdly proportioned knitted fox wearing a Santa hat sat on a blue sweater.

It actually was kind of cute, Rei thought at least.

"Should I guess you also got me one of those?" Kai's dry voice asked.

"...You really are a smart cookie, aren't ya?" Dan grinned back.

Kai sighed, finally peeling it open and lifting out something black.

Oh, like his soul. He got it. Har har.

Dan looked excited.

"Lift it up! Lift it up!"

Kai did, getting a look at the damage first.

Oh for...

" _Bah Humbug_? Really?" he said in a dull tone as he turned it around to show the hideous lime green lettering.

Dan slapped his knee, finding himself hilarious.

"You can get away with wearing that all year round! It suits you!" he mocked before he clapped at them all.

"Now put them on! These only get a day of wear per year! Make the most of it!"

They complied with little resistance. It was Christmas after all...

With that being the last of the gifts, the boys cleaned the paper up while Charlotte dashed to the kitchen to check on everything and fetch them more drinks.

As soon as her butt hit the couch, she eyed Dan looking fidgety and like he was deep in inner termoil.

The room was a little quiet...but it had only been a few minutes.

What had brought on the sudden change?

Was he nervous? Wondering if the boys were enjoying this?

"You want another mimosa, honey?" she asked, wondering if the dose of booze would loosen him up a bit, "I found another bottle of champagne!"

"NO!" Dan all but yelled, making the other three jump.

"I-I mean, let's pace ourselves sweety, got all day to get slowly plastered!"

She eyed him and nodded.

He did have a point.

But still. What else would chill him out?

"Oh, I know! Before we get too full, sleepy and plastered, why don't we show Rei our Trio now?"

Kai flinched.

So did Dan.

Urgh, such pansies...

"Trio...?" Rei asked as he looked around.

"Yes. As in three! It's what you call a group of three musicians playing together." she informed him.

Rei twisted his body back to Kai, eyes big and glittering.

"You three play together?!"

Kai shifted and sat straight.

"Well...we only practised a few times. But Dan said he and Charlotte do it every year for their family. Since we were over, they asked if I wanted to join and play something for you..." he explained as his face went red.

Rei went gooey.

"Really?! Well then what are you guys waiting for! Go get your stuff!"

He never grew tired of listening to Kai play.

Dan was an excellent pianist.

And Charlotte he'd never heard play before!

….Wait, what did she play again?

Ah, he'd figure it out in a second.

Kai suddenly forgot he was anxious about playing for Rei for a moment.

"I can try out my new shoulder rest!" he exclaimed excitedly as he ran out to get it, shortly followed by Charlotte.

Dan sat on the stool at his piano and waited while the other two left the room, blowing out breaths.

Rei frowned.

"Are you all right, Mr. Harris?" he asked.

Was a bit too early in the day for indigestion.

"Fine! Yup! Absolutely fine!" Dan grinned, though his face looked a little flushed.

Moments later, the other two came back in, one small and one large case.

He made himself comfortable on the couch while the three of them prepared.

Cello! That was it! She played cello!

...The big case should have been the giveaway really. But then what did he know about music?

He felt his own stupid grin stretch at his always ever so professional boyfriend, new shoulder thing in place and tuning up and making sure it was all perfect.

Charlotte sat herself with the...really big violin? Between her knees as she quickly tuned up too.

"We didn't practice all that much!" Kai spat out at Rei, covering himself in case it sucked.

This could ruin their first Christmas together!

Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"It's all right! It's just us, just a bit of fun is all!"

"Exactly!" Rei agreed as he bounced on the couch, eager for them to start.

Kai and Dan exchanged glances before Dan counted them in.

His fingers pressed gently on the keys, playing a very familiar sounding intro before Kai and Charlotte's bows touched the strings, bringing in rich and smooth tones.

 _Silent Night._

Rei relaxed in to the plush couch, listening and watching.

A simple and classic choice. But that didn't take away from its beauty.

He took in Charlotte and her cello. It was nothing like a violin. The sound nothing alike either.

The sound coming from it was deep and rich. She made it look so easy.

Of course, Dan's fingers were dancing along the black and white keys as if it came as naturally as breathing.

And then Kai...

He loved how he looked when he played. He didn't visibly change per se. The intense focus and perfectionism was very much present, but something about him changed. Seemed more accessible.

And there was something about the movements and shapes his hands and fingers made on the strings that did things to him...

Now he'd given them all a glance individually, he let himself take them in as a trio.

They sounded awesome together.

Playing in harmony as if they were meant to be.

Which made Rei's smile and chest get warmer.

He liked the idea that they were.

The three of them, a trio of music nerds in lame Christmas sweaters, one unit.

A family in their own rite.

With a final stroke of bows and press of keys, Charlotte and Dan stood and took a bow while Kai stood nervously awaiting critique.

Rei clapped, fang still sticking out and glowing.

"That was fantastic! You guys make a really great trio! And I don't believe for a second you didn't practice!" he aimed more at Kai.

Dan clapped him on the shoulder.

"Yeh, I call bullshit! Sounded way better than that one run-through we did! That vibrato was _mwaaah_!" he complimented, chef kissing his fingers.

Rei's face sunk.

His what now?

"Uh, yeh!" he played along, "And I really like it when you do the wobbly hand thing!"

Kai blinked and made a face, trying to translate before a smirk Rei had never seen before crept.

Not a smug or mocking one.

More adoring.

"You mean this?" he asked as his violin went to his shoulder again, moving his bow while his finger wobbled on the string, like Rei had said, and with it making a pretty wobbly sound.

"Yeh!" Rei beamed.

Kai's heart almost burst.

Ah, he was wonderful!

Dan gave him a grin back.

"That's what a vibrato is, Rei!" he told him, "But I think I like 'wobbly hand' better!"

Rei's smile vanished as he sank, flushing a little.

Of course he would say something dumb...

Made a mental note, at least he knew that now...

"Oh, we're not making fun!" Dan added quickly, seeing his face, "I know I don't have a clue when you two talk beyblades! If you're not in the business, you don't know!"

Rei perked a little.

That was true...

"Well...I like your vibrato. Yours too, Charlotte! And Dan..."

"Pianos can't do vibrato." he informed him quickly.

"Yeh. One reason why its so much easier than strings." Kai added, quickly getting a thwack round the head.

" _Excuse_ me?!"

"Ow! The hell!? It is!"

"You really want to start a war on Christmas?" Dan asked with his hands on his hips.

Kai eyed him.

No.

But he wanted to be right.

"Okay, fine. I'll prove it. Rei, come here. You're going to play something festive too."

Rei blinked.

"I am?"

"Yep! Now come on!" he urged as he set his violin down and sat himself at the piano stool, patting the space next to him.

Rei obliged.

"Give me your hand."

Any time...

He moved his hand so one finger was pointed, holding on gently and guiding.

"Ready?" he asked as he pushed Rei's finger down on to the keys.

"E, E, E. E, E, E. E, G, C, D, E..." Kai's husky voice sang along.

Rei's mouth dropped open.

JINGLE BELLS!

He was playing Jingle Bells!

"Think you can remember?" Kai asked, smiling at Rei's awe-struck expression.

Rei grinned, Kai's hand coming off and stabbing at the keys again.

The same tune played, his finger coming off as he looked at it like it was magic.

He lifted his proud and stoked head to them.

"I did it!"

Charlotte clapped.

Bless...

Dan on the other hand, narrowed his eyes.

"You did!" Kai praised, "Of course, it isn't as simple as one finger stabbing. Eventually you amp it up to sound like this..." he said a little smugly as both his hands went on the keys and played the same little chunk...only much better and complex, "But you see, even for someone who has never touched a piano, you can play a tune in seconds."

Dan's eyes narrowed in to a Kai-ish glare. He saw exactly where he was going with this.

"Now let's have a try on the violin, shall we?" he smiled smugly at Dan.

He pulled Rei up, handing him his precious violin, complete with his shiny new shoulder thing.

Rei was honored...

He stood like a mannequin and let Kai guide him.

"Hold the neck. Back straight...Put it on your shoulder there...mhmm, chin down. No, don't let it droop down. Good! Okay now the bow..."

Rei made a face of discomfort, his fingers being spread in to an uncomfortable position to hold the stick thing.

"Ah, near enough. Okay, now we gotta put your fingers like...this..." he explained as he tried to move his fingertips on to the right string in the right place, "And then put the bow here and..." he said as he moved the bow and pushed his elbow for him, making a screechy sound.

"...I don't like this one. Its hard..." Rei pouted, arms and fingers not enjoying this at all.

Kai turned a few degrees on the balls of his feet shooting Dan a now very smug grin.

"I believe I win..."

"You may have won the battle, but not the war!" Dan glared harder.

Charlotte looked between them.

She thought about stopping them.

But looking at the reversal in facial expressions, oh, how the tables had turned.

She knew how much Dan enjoyed ruffling Kai's feathers. But when did Kai ever get a chance for sweet revenge?

And he'd gone and hit him right where it hurt a musician and a man the most.

The _pride_.

…She couldn't help herself.

"Pfft, like the piano and violin are hard compared to the cello..." she smirked.

Two sets of fired up eyes snapped to her.

They were so easy it wasn't even funny.

But Kai's twitching eye was.

"What?! As if! You've got so much more space between your fingers to play a note!"

"Mmhmm...which means I have to move my whole arm where you just put down a finger..." she smirked.

Rei cracked a smile as he listened to the 'argument' while mentally taking notes. This was all pretty informative...

Was also nerdier than that time Scotty and Reuben bickered over who the best Doctor was in Doctor Who.

But he noticed the twinkle in Charlotte's eye.

Just messing with them cause she could.

He liked her...

Finally, after listening to Kai make his arguments why she was wrong, Charlotte stood up.

"All right, put your money where your mouth is. Come here!"

Kai's frown vanished.

"Hn?"

"You heard me! Come here! You used Rei as your little guinea pig, now I'm gonna use you to prove you're wrong..." she goated before her face went a lot sweeter, "Plus I said before I wanted to show you!"

Kai huffed, putting away his darling instrument that was getting slandered.

It was fine, he assured it mentally, he would prove its superiority. And she would be placed on the list for suggesting otherwise...

As soon as Kai stepped to her, Dan grabbed Ray's arm and dragged him.

"You too! Don't listen to him, he's full of shit!"

"Language, Dan!" Charlotte scolded.

"Well, he is! Now, learn from the professional..." he said strongly as he shoved Rei down at the stool and plopped next to him.

Rei lifted his head, watching Kai looking nervous as Charlotte sat him down and moved him just like Kai had done to him moments ago.

Dan's voice drowned out the moment his knees spread and the big, beautiful piece of wood sat between his legs.

He scolded himself.

Behave yourself, Rei. Today was a holy day.

But ooooooohhh...

He looked fantastic with a cello.

Charlotte went to work, the 'argument' gone from her mind.

She'd told him the first time she met Kai that she would show him, and had kept it in her head since.

Rei was always chatty with her from the get go. They had little things in common they could hold a conversation over. Had gotten to know each other a little over the very short time they'd known each other.

Easy to talk to and be around.

But Kai she was really yet to make a bond with. He was Dan's little Fireball.

Aside from their first meeting, their other encounters had only really been when Kai was having a bad patch and needed some scolding. Or a few words exchanged here and there.

He didn't seem as comfortable with her as Rei did. It was always Dan.

And that wasn't a bad thing. But if he was going to be in Dan's life, then she needed to break the ice.

She raised her head and took in Dan at the piano with Rei.

Aw, her Dan was a wonderful teacher. Look at him go!

And Rei's little face...he looked like he was enjoying it so far.

She knew Dan adored Rei, and Rei seemed to like Dan as well. But she had no idea just how well they got along.

This was nice. Perfect, in fact.

A very special Christmas already.

She went back to her new student, clearly struggling.

He did his best to pay attention and follow. But a good few years of technique drilling and meticulous practice on a different string instrument made it a bit hard.

The strings felt wrong. The bow hold felt wrong.

All of it was wrong!

But Charlotte, it turned out, was a good teacher as well.

But she wasn't that good, nor was Kai prodigy enough to master it in the twenty or so minute lesson he had before she went running off to the kitchen again.

She took her own stringed baby, putting it away and swearing she'd get back to it with him later before she did, leaving Kai to watch Dan and Rei.

He shifted in his seat breaking in to a goofy smile a he watched Rei clumsily play what Dan was showing him, his eyes full of focus while at the same time smiling.

Ooooooh. Maybe Rei would get in to it. Start doing lessons. Or he could teach him! He wasn't a pro like Dan, but he was more than proficient. Enough to teach a beginner.

They could play together!

Was it too late to buy him lessons and stuff for Christmas?

Rei let out a chuckle.

He had no clue what Dan was talking about.

He was just pushing the keys he told him to.

He doubted he was cut out for music.

He lifted his head and caught Kai watching, looking happy.

Maybe he should give it a shot. He hadn't known how passionate Kai was about music until he came to the school. But now he wondered how it had gone unknown that long. He seemed to live for it as much as he did blading. Not to mention how overly excited he was about all his Christmas gifts. All violin related.

His biggest role model was a pianist and his music teacher, whose wif- girlfriend was also a music teacher and cellist.

If Kai was making an effort to come out of his shell a little like he had been, live for more than work and study, then maybe it was only fair to try and join in with this?

At least learn a few things.

He doubted the 'wobbly hand thing' was the first dumb comment he'd made. Nor would it be the last.

A little while later, Charlotte informed them lunch was almost ready, sending them to set the table ready.

She ferried out an incredible feast of turkey, potatoes and vegetables that was way more than four people could handle.

But it was so good they gave it a good shot...

After they lethargically cleaned up, Charlotte snuck off.

She came back in to the living room, all three men with their noses in the various books they had received for Christmas in a post turkey slump.

She let the mischievous smirk crack as she hoisted up the cardboard box onto her hip.

The one she'd found while they were unpacking and kept aside for this very moment.

"Oh booooyyyys!" she let out musically, "Who's up for a little walk down memory lane?"

They all lifted their eyes from their books.

"What's that hun?" Dan asked a little nervously, getting a hunch.

"Well, we have all these albums and photos and stuff we still haven't unpacked yet! Thought maybe the boys might be interested!" she said innocently.

But really, she wanted to show them college years Dan. When the hair was bright red and he was trying and failing to look like a rock star.

"Noooo, I don't think they dooo..." Dan's said pointedly as his eye twitched.

Kai's book was down before it closed.

"Ohhhh yes they doooo!" he bounced, looking like...well, a kid at Christmas.

Dan glared again.

Of course he did...

Rei set his aside and went to bounce beside him.

"Seconded!"

Charlotte let out her melodic chuckle and got on the floor, quickly joined by the boys as they waited.

"What do we have here?" she said innocently as she opened it, feigning ignorance as to what was inside.

"Ohhh loooook! It's our college days..." she smiled innocently as she flipped through a few aged pictures.

"This is me..." she said as she handed it to Rei.

She had nothing to fear. She never did anything too wild. Her hair was naturally auburn, and now she was older she could look back and say herself she used to be pretty darn cute.

"Whoooa! Charlotte! You were hot!" Rei blurted out.

"She still is!" Dan stabbed in quickly.

Charlotte turned to him and blushed, waving it off.

"Ohhh...honey!" she gushed, "You definitely aged well!"

"Aged?!" he snapped, "I'm still in my prime!"

"Uh huh...anyway! Ooooohhh! These are my old roommates! Oh, they were fantastic! Still stay in touch now, actually. Not as much as we'd like, but with the internet and what not now we can still see what everyone's up to!"

Kai nodded politely.

Yeh, yeh! Make with the goods, lady!

Charlotte smirked. She could see Kai bursting at the seams.

"And this...is one Daniel F. Harris..." she announced as she found the one she had searched out previously, handing it right into Fireball's hands.

He took it, grinning like a Cheshire cat, while Rei grinned too, also looking like a cat but...he always did.

They took in a much younger face, same huge grin as always.

A scruffy chequered shirt that was way too big for him with some band t-shirt underneath.

Jeans that were ripped at the knees.

But none of that mattered.

What mattered was the fire-engine red hair.

So very. Very. Red.

There was a moment of stunned silence before they both let out deep snorts, followed by an eruption of deep, belly laughter.

Dan glowered at Charlotte, who gave him a pretty smile back.

This was a wonderful Christmas...

Sound of laughter in the air...

Rei's died down, while Kai couldn't quite breathe yet, making the mistake of looking at it again and setting himself off more. Legs kicking a little as he hugged his stomach with his free hand.

"Ooowwwwww!" he whined in a wheeze, tears coming to his eyes.

"Careful you don't throw up." Rei smiled, looking at the picture again and letting another smaller giggle slip out.

Kai's highly amused eyes met Dan's, making it even funnier.

"You look so _stupid_!" he howled.

Dan rolled his eyes, but a viral smile cracked.

He'd never seen Kai laugh like that. Anything like that.

That was worth the humiliation.

"Ohhhh, laugh it up Smurf boy! Just you wait, years from now some little shits will be peeing their pants looking at pictures of the get up you're in now."

"Ahhhh if I don't care now, I doubt I'll care later..." Kai sighed, finally calming down and handing the picture back.

Hopefully there would be more...

Dan snorted and nodded.

Whatever he said...

He joined them on the floor, figuring now they jokes had been made, it might actually be nice to sit and look through.

And...

Would maybe provide the perfect opportunity he'd been waiting all day for...?

He'd already chickened out twice...

Oooooooh, and thanks to Kai, he had the perfect thing to add to it.

That little diamond!

He cleared his throat.

"You know what this little bit of nostalgia needs?! Some ambiance! Why don't I fire up the record player Kai got me?"

Kai's tail wagged a little, pleased he liked it.

Dan went over to the tree to get the box, sitting down on the floor to open it up.

Good! No assembling needed. Just plug this bad boy in!

He clambered around to get it plugged in and set up, shifting back under the tree to get his records and rolling it out the sleeve.

He checked the back to see the order...

Oh good, was the second one...

He fiddled a little more until a warm crackle graced the room followed by warm and glorious piano.

He shifted back, placing himself beside Charlotte and dipping his hand in to the box.

"Now, where were we?" he asked as he pulled out some pictures himself.

"Ooooh! Us at the college bar! Spent a lot of time in here..." Dan chuckled as showed it to the boys.

"We actually used to play there a lot. Being a music school and all, they always had little events and stuff for people to perform. Wasn't a concert hall with tuxes and stuff, but was actually helpful playing in front of drunks. They were way more honest. Got that thick skin quicker.." he laughed as he turned to Charlotte.

"Ohhhh, remember three-drinks Andy?"

"Urgh! Just awful!" Charlotte tutted.

"Who?" Kai and Rei asked in unison.

"Oh, come on! He was fine before the three drinks..." Dan reasoned, "He was a guy called Andy, funnily enough, a regular. After three drinks he always turned in to a real obnoxious asshole. Had something to say about anything and anyone...so yeh, he was fun to play in front of..."

Charlotte shifted smugly.

"He never said anything to me...he liked me."

Dan gave her a look.

"Yes...he did..."

"OOOOOO, was he your love rival?!" Kai blurted out, "And how come he won?!" he threw at Charlotte.

"Oh! No! He was not my type..."

"And... _he_ was?" Kai asked with a cocked brow, nodding at Dan.

Dan frowned.

How come he was getting all the abuse and torment today!?

"Hey Rei? What do you see in _him_?"

"Oh, plenty!" Rei answered brightly, getting a happy and bashful look off Kai in return.

Dan would jab back, but...

Awww...

Charlotte chuckled again.

"Yeh, he was. He made me laugh the first time I ever saw him. Not cause of the hair..." she winked, "Was in a class full of real stiffs. If they smiled, their faces would crack types..."

"Like you!" Dan jabbed at Kai.

Kai rolled his eyes.

But he was pretty sure he heard this story when he met Charlotte the first time.

And was pretty sure Dan made the exact same jab then as well.

Eh. Old people repeated. Wasn't their fault.

"You know, I still can't remember for the life of me what he said to the professor, but it was so clever and witty! And he got zilch! Nothin! Which made me laugh harder."

"Was wasted..." Dan shook his head.

"It was...but I guess he heard me laugh and was glad there was someone with a sense of humour in that place. Asked me to go for coffee after class, we went and..." she trailed off as she blushed like a school girl.

"Annnnnnnnnd?" Dan pried with a coy grin.

He'd been wounded more than once today, he deserved an ego boost.

She leaned over and kissed his cheek, making Kai and Rei tense a little.

They'd never been that affectionate in front of them before.

"And from then, years together, a break up, years in other countries apart, a reconciliation and good number of years on top of that, you're still my type..." she said as she fluttered her lashes.

Maybe it was because it was Christmas...

Maybe it was the presence of a fresh new teenage couple...

Maybe it was the mimosas...

But she'd come over all gaga for him again.

Her ears perked up and her face went brighter and sappier.

"Ooooooohhhh Dan! It's our music!"

Kai strained his ears.

Oh yeh! Nocturne in C sharp minor.

The one he and Dan played together at school. He'd said he played if for Charlotte.

Dan sat up straighter and listened.

Shit! It was!

It had been going completely over his head.

Ohhhhhhhh God. Now or never...

Now or never, Harris!

Be a man!

Just...DO IT!

"...Dan? Are you all right?" she asked as she saw him looking off again.

With a bead of sweat forming on his brow, his hand came out and grabbed her hand.

"Yes! More than all right! Because I have the most amazing woman who puts up with my crap and loves me anyways!"

Kai and Rei blinked.

...Um. Okay?

He was lucky, to be fair...

Charlotte blinked too at the suddenness.

Was he drunk already?

"Dan..." she chuckled. He had a way with words...

"It's always been you!" he fired out, pre-pepared speech in his head gone and having to improvise. Not something achieved easily when nervous and under pressure. "Even if my actions might not have shown it at times...I've been selfish and went ahead with things that meant you went waiting for the things you wanted...but I lost you once years ago and I never ever want to lose you again! I-I'm an idiot! But I just don't work without you! So its late...it's soooo late and I'm sorry! But I don't want to keep you waiting any more..."

He shifted himself clumsily on to one knee in front of her, reaching in to his pocket for the box that had been digging in to his thigh all day, waiting for the right moment.

"Charlotte Banks, will you _please_ marry my sorry ass?!" his voice cracked anxiously as he opened it up for her.

Kai and Rei let out gasps and clung on to each other, holding their breaths.

NOOOOO WAAAAYYYYYY!

Charlotte stared at the diamond glinting back at her.

She had been expecting this for years.

Pissed off it kept not happening.

But now the moment was here, and the proposal was so...Dan.

She may as well have been a fresh faced, blushing 20-something year old.

Her eyes welled up and her lipstick colored lips quivered.

"...About frickin' time!" her voice strained in a high pitch as she slapped his arm, "Yes! For the love of god, make me a Harris already!"

Rei felt himself about to blub as Dan slipped the ring on her finger. Teetering harder when Charlotte threw herself at him and they kissed.

Aw, the happiness was real!

He heard a sniff beside him.

He turned his watery eyes to Kai, who was staring very intently at the lightbulb in the ceiling as he brushed the corner of his eye with his finger.

"Are you crying?"

Kai shot him a glare.

"I'm not crying, _**you're**_ crying!"

Rei chuckled.

"Yes! I am! I admit it!"

Dan jumped to his feet, fiancé in tow.

"Champagne! For all! Screw it, we aint gonna tell anyone you're underage!" he beamed as he took off, dragging Charlotte to the kitchen with him, probably for a moment alone.

Which was perfect, because it gave Rei and Kai a moment alone...

The moment Rei's ears picked up footsteps, he pushed away from him, giving them time to straighten back up.

Two big grins came back in, him with the bottle, her with four glasses.

As they settled down and Dan peeled off the wrapper around the cork, Rei whipped his phone out to take some pictures.

With a pearly white smile and an incredible pop, white fizz gushed out, quickly poured in to glasses and handed out, the pale, goldish color sparkling in the slim glasses.

"A toast! To future Mrs. Harris..."

"To future Mrs. Harris!" they echoed, clinking glasses and taking a sip of their first champagne.

….Ew. That was...dry.

They swallowed it down, setting their glasses on the side to congratulate them and make a fuss.

"Oh, I'm so glad you boys are here to share it with us!" Charlotte gushed tearily as she bear hugged them both, only pulling back to let them breathe and to show off her ring.

As the high came down, but not the awesome atmosphere in the house, they settled down, going through the rest of the photographs and listening to their stories.

Kai hung on every word. Not just because he was interested in their story, their travels and paths they'd taken, but because music college sounded...awesome.

Somehow, after the trip down memory lane, the Christmas trash on TV and a weird craving for snacks despite a few hours before swearing they would never eat again, the day was...done.

After the night crept in, Charlotte declared herself ready to call it a night, taking herself upstairs to get ready for another early night.

As she went, Dan took himself off to the kitchen to make them some tea to take up. She always did like that herb crap before bed.

He looked over his shoulder as he heard movement and threw a grin at Kai, shuffling in through the doorway.

"Hey! Wanting something? Help yourself!" he invited as he went back to to the hot water.

"Oh. No, thanks. Rei and I are going to head up to bed in a minute..."

Dan nodded at the cups of herbal tea.

"Alright, bud! Nighty night!"

"Night..."

He stirred the cup, and yet didn't hear or sense him moving.

He slowly turned to see him stood there like a lemon.

"...You all right?"

Kai shifted.

"Mmhmm."

And then continued to stand awkwardly.

So Dan waited.

Finally, he mustered up enough...whatever he needed.

"Congratulations, Mr. Harris. I, I mean _we_ , we're really happy for you."

Dan took a moment before his small smile broke.

"Thank you. Incredibly overdue, but thank god she said yes."

"Better late than never?" Kai offered, not knowing what other pearl of wisdom to give.

"Exactly. And hey! Thanks to your awesome Christmas gift, got to add in the perfect background music! Absolutely perfect gift, thank you."

Kai's tail wagged again.

"Ohhh, it was just a little something...you know, it was actually kind of hard to think of something you might like. I wasn't even sure if you'd like it, I think vinyl is a little before your time, right?" he fired out.

Dan's brows came up a little, amused at the flapping.

"Well, yes and no. I had cassettes and CD's. But my dad always had vinyl. Had heaps of them! Wonder if he's still got them...could raid his collection...and besides, doesn't matter if it wasn't my generation, still something wonderful about records." he said before he clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"And I'm really, really touched by the thought that was put in to it. Absolutely love them. Thank you."

Kai nodded, still shifting.

"I really liked mine too, thank you."

Dan snorted.

"Oh, now those really were just a little somethings. I feel bad. Just you are also horrible to buy for. Had no idea!"

Seriously, what do you buy a kid who was sitting on more money than he would ever make in a lifetime?!

"No, no! I really do like them! Read the first little bit today and seems like a really well written book! The shoulder rest is awesome! Charlotte's sheet music has a bunch I've never tried to play before. And as for this..." he said as he stretched his Christmas sweater, "Well, this is dumb. But everyone wearing one was kind of fun. I've never really had a Christmas. Nothing like this at all. And it was...well, it was the best. Better than anything you could wrap up."

Dan's face got softer.

Aw...Fireball...

"I'm really glad."

Kai shifted a little more.

"So yeh...thank you..."

Dan felt a smirk crack again.

He could sense it. The reason for all the stalling. The awkward shifting and the averted eyes.

Or he hoped that was it at least.

His smirk grew when he saw Kai's hands flinch. Fists opening and closing at his sides.

Did he let him suffer and carry on this...whatever you called it? Or did he put him out his misery and just hope to God he didn't misread the situation?

Screw it, was Christmas.

He playfully rolled his eyes and stepped forward, grabbing him and bringing him in.

"We're both happy as hell you came to spend it with us. And you're more than welcome next year, the year after or any year after that." he said as a few wild slate tufts tickled his face.

He smiled more when he felt the arms go round him too.

"Merry Christmas, Kai."

"Merry Christmas, Dan..."

He kept him there a little more, daring to pat and rub his back a little while trying not to well up a little.

What a... _fuckin'_ _fantastic_ Christmas...

Kai finally cleared his throat and pulled away.

"Well I'd better..."

"Yeh! Yeh, you go on up...See you in the morning buddy."

Kai bid him goodnight again, actually leaving this time and going up the stairs to his room, finding Rei already washed and ready for bed.

"I think Charlotte just finished in the bathroom if you want it." he told him as he undid his hair, cross legged on the bed.

Kai nodded, finding his pyjamas and taking himself off to get ready as well.

He came back a little while later, Bah Humbug sweater sadly off and folded, not to be seen for another year.

Rei peeled the covers back, inviting him in to the spot he was keeping warm for him, shifting back to his side.

As he climbed in, the blanket enveloping them and eyes getting close up, hands instantly draped and lips instantly met.

With small, content and almost sleepy noises leaving their throats, a lengthy session ensued, making up for time lost during the day.

They only stopped when lips were near enough bruised and oxygen was running too low.

They stayed huddled in to each other, on their sides and pressed up against each other.

Warm, cosy and blissful.

They stared at each other quietly for a little while, enjoying the nice and peaceful feeling, when suddenly, Kai made a face that sort of resembled Dan's when he'd, as it was now clear, been pussy-footing around proposing.

Oh no...had indigestion struck?

"You all right?"

Kai's currant colored eyes stared back for a second, frozen and frantic.

Unlike Dan being long overdue, this was way, way too soon. Wasn't it?

And yet...

"Rei?"

Rei's face looked back warily at the tone of his voice.

"Yeh?"

"I love you."

Panic struck as he saw Rei's face drop.

Shit! _Shit_! He'd fucked it!

You complete... _fucking_... _ **moron**_!

Could he take it back?!

' _Just kidding_ ' felt like a terrible idea.

And it would be a lie.

Rei finally smiled as it sunk in, putting a hand on his face to calm the instant panic that took him after he'd said it.

"I love you too."

The panic stopped and his face hung.

"...You do?"

Rei chuckled.

"Yeh. I have for...I don't even know how long." he shrugged as he smiled.

"Hn. Me too, I guess..."

Rei shook his head.

"Pair of idiots...took way too long."

Ooh! Kai had a response to that!

"Better late than never."

"True...Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas..."

Forgetting the almost bruised lips, they went for round two, which tasted even sweeter.

Best. Christmas. Ever.

Meanwhile, down the hall in the master bedroom, Dan rolled off Charlotte, having finally taken the chance to do a little (albeit quiet) celebrating of their own.

Their slightly dishevelled hair hit the pillow, taking a second to catch their breaths before she rolled in to him and cuddled up.

He took her newly ringed hand and kissed it.

"Love you, Vixen."

"Love you too..." she replied as she pushed herself up and leaned over him, planting another peck on him.

"Perfect way to round off a perfect day." she smirked coyly.

Dan let out a quiet and filthy chuckle.

"Can say that again..."

Her smirk turned to a softer smile, going in again and planting a softer kiss on him.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Harris..."

"Hn." he chuckled again, "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Harris."

* * *

End of Chapter!

I really hope you enjoyed it, and I hope wherever you are you have a wonderful Christmas!


End file.
